Foreign  Commerce  Series 


NUMBER  ONE 


Trading  With  Our  Neighbors 
in  the   Caribbean 


B* 
OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 


The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York 


T^VURING  the  present  year,  The 
*^*  National  City  Bank  of  New 
York  expects  to  expand  its  Foreign 
Commerce  Series  by  the  publica- 
tion of  booklets,  similiar  to  this 
one,  which  shall  deal  with  financial, 
economic  and  commercial  conditions 
in  South  America,  in  the  Orient, 
in  South  Africa  and  Australia,  and 
in  certain  sections  of  Europe. 


Interior  of  the  Havana,  Cuba,  Branch  of  The  National 
City  Bank  of  New  York 


Foreign  Commerce  Series 

Number   One 


Trading  With  Our  Neighbors 
in  the  Caribbean 


By 

OSCAR  P.  AUSTIN 

Statistician 
Thi  National  City  Bank  of  New  York 


1920 


sir 


FOREWORD 

THIS  pamphlet,  covering  the  countries  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  is  one 
of  a  series  of  documents  of  like  character  which  The  National  City 
Bank  of  New  York  issues  from  time  to  time  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
into  easy  and  interesting  form  information  concerning  countries  under 
discussioM,  referring  briefly  to  the  history  of  their  development  and  calling 
attention  to  the  present  day  commercial,  financial  and  investment  oppor- 
tunities, more  especially  concerning  exports  and  imports  to  and  from 
the  United  States.  This  does  not  suggest  that  trade  between  the  Carib- 
bean countries  is  or  can  be  confined  to  those  countries  and  our  own,  for 
not  only  do  the  exports  of  our  neighbors  referred  to  find  in  large  part 
their  market  two  or  three  times  the  distance  to  American  ports,  but  many 
of  these  imports  originate  in  the  remotest  quarter  of  the  globe.  Rice 
from  Japan  flows  into  all  the  Caribbean  ports;  Cuba  draws  from  India 
for  bags  for  its  sugar;  and  dried  beef,  corn  and  wheat  from  the  southern 
ports  of  South  America  enter  those  of  the  Caribbean. 

In  all  of  this  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York  takes  its  place 
through  the  40  branches  it  has  established  throughout  the  Caribbean 
district  and  by  means  of  its  comprehensive  organization  furnishes  service 
for  all  of  these  varied  trade  movements.  Nowhere  has  a  branch  been 
established  with  the  purpose  of  taking  business  away  from  other  banks 
and  thereby  justifying  its  existence,  but  only  in  such  cities  or  ports  of 
sufficient  importance  as  to  warrant  another  bank's  establishment.  These 
branches  soon  become  a  vital  factor  in  the  commercial  and  financial  life 
of  the  country  where  they  are  located,  and  such  business  as  comes  from 
competitive  institutions  does  so  as  a  result  of  more  adequate  facilities 
or  better  service. 

The  opportunities  in  the  Caribbean  for  our  exporters  and  importers 
are  of  steadily  increasing  importance.  The  vast  virgin  territory  back  of 
the  northern  part  of  Colombia  and  Venezuela  holds  forest  products, 
mineral  and  agricultural  wealth  of  great  magnitude.  Cuba,  although 
producing  this  year  upwards  of  4,000,000  tons  of  sugar,  possesses  an 
undeveloped  productive  power  beyond  what  was  dreamed  of  in  the  old 
days  of  the  Spanish  dominion  when  it  was  little  realized  what  fruitful 
fields  the  wilderness  would  become.  Porto  Rico  produces  nearly  three 
times  what  it  did  prior  to  the  Spanish  war  and  at  that  time  it  was  believed 
that  the  maximum  production  had  been  attained.  On  the  contrary,  it  has 
but  begun  and  the  development  to  come  in  the  Caribbean  countries  will 


furnish  a  stronger  contrast  than  exists  today.  And  so  on  through  the 
Western,  Windward  and  Leeward  Islands  and  all  down  the  Spanish  Main 
are  opportunities  for  selling,  for  buying,  for  development  and  for  pro- 
ducing the  commodities  needed  for  the  world's  consumption. 

In  this  development,  this  exportation  and  importation,  and  in  the 
cultivation  of  closer  business  relations  and  friendships,  The  National 
City  Bank  of  New  York  takes  an  active  part  and  provides  for  its  clients 
at  home  and  abroad  the  most  efficient  credit,  trade  and  general  banking 
facilities  furnishing  a  world  wide  service  through  its  world  wide 
organization. 

JOHN  H.  ALLEN, 

Vice-Prwident 
The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York 


I 

The  Caribbean  and  the 

Gulf  of  Mexico — 
The  " American  Mediterranean 


>  > 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 


The  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — 
The  " American  Mediterranean" 

THE  Caribbean  Sea  and  its  companion  body  of  water,  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico — the  "American  Mediterranean" — with  its  islands  and  the 
countries  fronting  upon  it,  is  an  extremely  important  area,  especially 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States.   As  a  body  of  water,  this  area  is  about 
fifty  per  cent,  larger  than  the  Mediterranean,  with  a  much  larger  number 
of  islands  and  a  continental  frontage  with  much  greater  promise  as  to  the 
future  producing  power  than  that  of  the  Mediterranean  of  Europe.    Its 
land  area,  exclusive  of  United  States  territory,  is  2,000,000  square  miles, 
its  population  40,000,000  and  its  commerce  approximately  $2,000,000,000 
annually. 

The  Caribbean  proper  occupies  that  part  of  the  ocean  bed  lying  im- 
mediately north  of  South  America  and  at  the  east  of  Central  America. 
Its  northern  and  eastern  boundary  is  considered  by  geographers  as  identical 
with  the  West  Indian  Islands,  Cuba,  the  Dominican  Republic,  Porto  Rico 
and  the  Antilles  group.  The  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  lies  immediately  north 
of  the  Caribbean  and  occupies  the  southern  frontage  of  the  United  States, 
is,  however,  so  closely  related  to  the  Caribbean  proper  that  they  may  be 
properly  considered  in  conjunction  in  a  study  of  the  oceanic  area  lying 
between  North  and  South  America. 

These  two  bodies  of  water,  nearly  identical  in  size,  are  in  combination 
about  1,500,000  square  miles.  The  oceanic  currents  which  enter  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Caribbean  flow  its  entire  length,  passing  thence  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  along  its  northern  frontage  move  again  into 
the  narrow  passage  between  Florida  and  Cuba,  then  out  into  the  Atlantic, 
carrying  the  warmth  of  the  tropical  zone  across  that  great  body  of  water 
to  the  countries  of  northwestern  Europe  and  thus  moderating  their 
climate  and  increasing  their  products. 

Tropical  Currents  in  the  Caribbean 

These  warm  tropical  currents,  which  enter  the  Caribbean  at  the  east 
end,  and  move  through  its  entire  length  of  1000  miles,  passing  thence 
between  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan  and  the  western  end  of  Cuba  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  and  thence  between  Florida  and  Cuba  into  the  Atlantic, 
are  extremely  important  factors  in  the  producing  power  of  the  islands 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

and  countries  fronting  upon  both  the  Caribbean  and  its  sister  body  of 
water,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  great  ocean  currents,  resulting  from  the 
action  of  the  trade  winds  upon  the  surface  of  the  water  during  untold 
centuries,  and  which  trade  winds  in  turn  result  from  the  rapidity  of  the 
eastern  movement  of  the  earth's  surface  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Equator, 
flow  across  the  Atlantic  from  the  southwestern  coast  of  Africa  and  in  a 
lesser  degree  from  the  northwestern  coast  of  that  continent,  and  in  that 
long  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  in  the  tropical  regions  enter  the  Caribbean 
at  a  high  temperature,  while  they  are  still  further  heated  during  their 
slow  passage  through  that  sea  and  in  their  further  stay  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

The  presence  in  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  of  this  vast  body 
of  water  at  an  extremely  high  temperature,  coupled  with  the  presence  of 
air  currents  from  the  tropical  areas  of  the  Atlantic  and  charged  with  a 
high  degree  of  moisture,  gives  to  the  entire  land  area  within  or  fronting 
upon  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  unique  conditions  of  produc- 
tion, a  dependable  high  temperature,  coupled  with  a  dependable  supply 
of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere. 

Garden  Spot  of  the  Tropics 

As  a  consequence,  the  score  of  islands  scattered  through  this  American 
Mediterranean,  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  land  area 
immediately  fronting  upon  that  body  of  water,  exceeds  that  of  any  like 
area  in  its  power  of  the  production  of  many  articles  of  tropical  growth 
which  are  greatly  required  by  man;  making  this  area,  in  fact,  the  Garden 
Spot  of  the  Tropical  World. 

And  this  unique  condition  of  climate,  air  currents  and  producing  power, 
is  a  permanent  one.  So  long  as  the  earth  continues  to  revolve  towards 
the  east  and  the  air  currents  continue  to  flow  across  the  Atlantic  towards 
the  west,  the  "American  Mediterranean,"  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  will  give  to  its  adjacent  land  surface  an  absolute  power  to  produce 
untold  quantities  of  certain  great  products  required  by  man — sugar, 
coffee,  cacao,  rice,  tobacco,  tropical  fruits,  cocoa  and  other  oil  nuts,  sisal, 
cotton,  rubber,  and  many  important  tropical  forest  products.  Untold 
quantities  of  these  tropical  growths,  which  man  now  requires  in  constantly 
increasing  supplies,  can  be  produced  in  increasing  quantities  in  this  area 
with  its  unique  combination  of  a  fruitful  soil,  a  plentiful  moisture  supply, 
and  a  dependable  temperature,  created  by  this  never-ceasing  flow  of  trop- 

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TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

ical  currents  of  air  and  water,  accumulating  their  heat  in  passing  through 
the  Atlantic  in  the  equatorial  regions,  and  distributing  them  equally  and 
with  unfailing  regularity  to  the  adjacent  land. 

Future  Producing  Power  of  the  Region 

What  wonder,  then,  that  we  find  this  land  area,  consisting  of  the  West 
Indian  Islands,  the  Guianas,  Venezuela,  Colombia,  Central  America  and  Mex- 
ico having  already  an  annual  commerce  of  approximately  $2,000,000,000. 
And  the  conditions  of  today  are  only  the  beginning  as  to  the  present 
producing  power  of  this  wonderful  area  lying  within  or  fronting  upon  the 
"American  Mediterranean."  The  area  of  the  thirty  islands  and  countries 
lying  within  or  adjacent  to  the  waters  of  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  is  about  2,000,000  square  miles,  its  present  population  approxi- 
mately 40,000,000,  its  1918  imports  $700,000,000,  and  its  exports 
$900,000,000  in  value. 

Its  commerce  in  1919  will,  in  view  of  the  large  and  recent  increase 
in  prices  of  its  chief  products — coffee,  sugar,  cacao,  rubber  and  hides — 
doubtless  show  a  large  gain  over  1918  and  bring  the  grand  total  of  its 
international  trade  to  the  two  billion  dollar  line.  The  imports  will 
approximate  one  billion  and  the  exports  considerably  more  than  one 
billion. 

Perimeter  of  the  Basin 

The  perimeter  of  this  great  basin,  including  and  fronting  upon  the 
Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  is  wholly  mountainous  except  at  the  north, 
or  the  southern  frontage  of  the  United  States.  The  mountain  chain  which 
stretches  across  the  northern  part  of  South  America  from  the  southern 
boundaries  of  the  Guianas  to  Venezuela  in  conjunction  with  the  mountain 
system  of  Columbia,  include  nearly  all  of  those  three  areas,  the  Guianas, 
Venezuela  and  Columbia,  within  the  Caribbean  Basin  and  that  of  the 
Atlantic  closely  adjacent  thereto,  though  a  part  of  the  area  of  Columbia 
falls  within  the  head  waters  of  the  Amazon. 

At  the  west,  the  mountain  chain  which  characterizes  all  of  Central 
America  and  extends  from  the  western  part  of  Mexico  to  the  border  of 
the  United  States,  throws  nine-tenths  of  that  area  within  the  basin  of 
the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  At  the  east,  the  lines  of  islands 
known  as  the  Antilles,  and  more  closely  designated  as  Cuba,  Jamaica, 
Haiti,  Porto  Rico  and  the  Leeward  and  Windward  Islands,  are  the  mere 
tops  of  a  great  mountain  chain  stretching  from  the  northern  coast  of 

10 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

South  America  to  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  the  southern 
coast  of  the  United  States,  which,  although  partly  submerged,  forms  the 
eastern  frontage  of  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  area  of  the  countries  and  islands  bordering  upon,  and  the  islands 
lying  within  this  body  of  water  (previously  approximated  at  two  million 
square  miles),  is  equivalent  to  two-thirds  of  that  of  the  United  States, 
exclusive  of  Alaska.  The  population  of  40,000,000  is  approximately  two- 
fifths  that  of  the  United  States.  Of  the  region's  imports  of  $700,000,000 
in  1918,  $500,000,000  worth  were  drawn  from  the  United  States  and  of 
the  exports  of  $900;000,000,  about  $650,000,000  worth  were  sent  to  the 
United  States.  All  of  these  figures  are,  of  course,  in  very  round  terms. 

"Submerged  Alps" 

Below  the  surface  of  this  great  water  area,  lies,  according  to  a  recent 
authority,  "a  configuration  which,  if  it  could  be  seen,  would  be  as  pic- 
turesque in  relief  as  the  Alps  or  Himalayas."  Nowhere  can  such  contrasts 
of  relief  be  found  within  a  short  distance.  Some  deeps  vie  in  profundity 
with  the  altitudes  of  the  Andes;  some,  like  the  Bartlett  Deep,  are  narrow 
tracts  only  a  few  miles  in  width,  but  many  miles  long  and  three  miles  in 
depth,  a  border  of  steep  precipices  and  long  ridges  beneath  the  waters 
which,  if  elevated,  would  stand  up  like  the  islands  of  today.  Other  vast 
areas  of  this  inland  sea  are  underlain  by  shallow  banks  often  approaching 
the  surface  of  the  water  like  that  extending  from  Jamaica  to  Honduras 
and  the  great  islands  within  that  area  are  bordered  in  places  by  submerged 
shelves. 

All  of  the  islands  lying  within  this  area,  then,  are  to  be  regarded  from 
a  physiographical  point  of  view,  "the  tops  of  a  varied  configuration  which 
has  its  greatest  relief  beneath  the  sea  and  is  populated  by  untold  millions 
of  animal  forms  including  phosphorescent  creatures,"  and  in  certain  places 
"dense  forests  of  pentacrini  undulate  on  the  bottom  like  aquatic  plants," 
while  on  the  submerged  banks  and  in  the  shallows,  coral  and  polyps  are, 
according  to  a  recent  issue  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Americana  "employed 
as  actively  now  as  ever  in  extracting  the  lime  carried  by  the  sea  water 
to  complete  their  shelves  of  coral  which  are  so  largely  a  part  of  the  rock- 
making  material  in  all  this  region  from  Yucatan  to  Porto  Rico." 

The  importance  of  this  Caribbean  area,  including  that  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  which  is  really  a  part  of  the  same  body  of  water,  and  must,  there- 
fore, be  considered  in  conjunction  with  it,  is  of  special  interest  to  the  United 

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TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

States,  which  has  the  largest  frontage  upon  this  area  and  enjoys  a  very 
large  and  constantly  growing  proportion  of  this  trade.  All  of  the  land 
areas  within  or  fronting  upon  this  body  of  water  are,  except  as  to  the 
United  States,  tropical;  and  the  United  States  is  the  world's  largest 
purchaser  of  tropical  products,  while  the  forty  million  people  within  this 
tropical  area  consume  large  quantities  of  the  products  of  the  temperate 
zone. 

A  Highway  of  Commerce 

As  a  route  for  commerce,  this  great  inland  sea  is  unique  and  of  growing 
importance.  Lying  between  the  two  great  oceans  of  the  world,  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific,  now  connected  by  the  Panama  Canal,  it  is  the  highway  for 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  commerce  passing  by  vessel  between  those 
great  bodies  of  water  which  carry  the  bulk  of  the  world's  water-borne 
commerce,  while  it  now  carries  also  a  very  large  and  rapidly  increasing 
proportion  of  the  trade  between  North  and  South  America. 

Formerly,  the  vessels  entering  this  sea  came  only  from  the  Atlantic, 
completed  their  tour  of  the  coast  cities  and  emerged  again  into  the  Atlantic. 
Now,  however,  with  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal,  they  may  use 
the  waters  of  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  part  of  a  great  highway 
between  those  two  great  oceans;  also,  as  circumstance  may  require, 
between  the  ports  fronting  upon  the  area  in  question.  Formerly,  more- 
over, much  of  the  merchandise  between  North  America  and  South  America 
passed  back  and  forth  by  way  of  the  European  ports  of  the  Atlantic,  while 
whatever  of  traffic  occurred  between  the  western  coast  of  South  America 
and  the  eastern  cities  of  the  United  States  was  compelled  to  utilize  our 
own  Pacific  ports  and  transfer  its  merchandise  by  rail  across  the  con- 
tinent or  send  it  long  distances  around  the  southern  tip  of  South  America 
and  thence  to  the  eastern  frontage  by  the  Atlantic  route. 

Now,  with  the  Panama  Canal  in  existence,  by  which  the  western  ports 
of  South  America  may  communicate  in  an  almost  direct  line  with  the 
eastern  ports  of  North  America,  the  traffic  routes  between  the  two  conti- 
nents are  greatly  shortened  and  the  trade  consequently  greatly  increased, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  our  trade  with  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  is  nearly  $300,000,000  per  annum  as  against  about  $75,000,000 
a  decade  ago.  The  trade  with  the  eastern  coast  of  South  America,  of  which 
a  much  smaller  proportion  now  passes  by  way  of  Europe  than  was  formerly 
the  case,  has  also  greatly  increased. 

Relations  between  the  United  States  and  the  Caribbean  Islands  and 

12 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

countries  have  always  been  of  a  close  and  most  friendly  character.  The 
intervention  of  the  United  States  in  the  long  boundary  dispute  between 
Great  Britain  and  Venezuela,  culminating  in  1895  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Cleveland,  followed  by  other  interventions  in  behalf 
of  that  country  by  President  Roosevelt  in  1903,  are  among  the  many 
incidents  evidencing  the  genuine  friendship  of  the  United  States  for  its 
immediate  neighbors  at  the  south.  To  this  should,  of  course,  be  added 
the  intervention  in  behalf  of  Cuba  during  the  term  of  President  McKinley 
which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  that  island  as  a  republic;  the  inter- 
vention of  President  Taft  to  terminate  a  revolution  in  Nicaragua,  followed 
by  the  retention  under  President  Wilson  of  forces  in  that  country  for  the 
preservation  of  order  and  a  similar  attitude  toward  the  Dominican  Re- 
public and  the  supervision  now  exercised  over  the  custom  service  and  the 
observance  of  the  law  in  both  Santa  Domingo  and  Haiti,  while  the  cordial 
relationship  between  the  United  States  and  Panama  further  illustrates 
this  friendly  and  neighborly  attitude  of  the  United  States  toward  this 
entire  area. 

Why  Development  Has  Been  Dwarfed 

The  chief  drawback  in  the  former  development  of  this  area  has  been: 
(1) — Lack  of  man-power  for  production; 
(2) — Lack  of  animal  production  for  transportation; 
(3) — Lack  of  capital  for  development. 

All  these  are  now  likely  to  be  supplied  with  much  greater  rapidity 
than  in  the  past.  The  Caribbean  area  was  the  first  part  of  America  to  be 
studied  and  explored,  yet  its  progress  in  the  matter  of  development  of  its 
producing  possibilities  has  been  extremely  slow  as  compared  with  other 
parts  of  the  continent  and  especially  that  of  the  temperate  zone,  both 
north  and  south.  The  reason  for  this  slow  development  of  the  Caribbean 
area  is  due  to  climatic  conditions.  Labor  in  the  tropics  is  difficult  to  obtain, 
difficult  to  develop  as  to  its  producing  power  and,  therefore,  difficult  to 
utilize  as  a  factor  in  producing  the  natural  products  of  the  land  or  forests 
or  mines.  The  enervating  conditions  in  the  tropical  climate  and  the 
ease  with  which  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  labor  will  produce  the 
actual  requirements  of  an  individual  minimize  the  activities  of  the  average 
tropical  man  and  thus  retard  the  development  of  the  producing  power 
of  the  land  in  agriculture,  forestry  and  mining. 

is 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

The  difficulty  of  transportation  is  also  equally  great.  The  animals 
which  aided  man  in  developing  the  temperate  zone — the  horse  and  ox — 
can  no  more  perform  full  service  in  the  tropics  than  can  man  himself, 
and  as  a  consequence,  their  service  has  been  lacking  both  in  cultivating 
the  land  and  transporting  products  to  the  water's  edge,  where  it  might 
take  ships  for  the  other  parts  of  the  world.  As  a  consequence  of  this  lack 
of  producing  and  transporting  power,  there  has  been  little  incentive  to 
construct  railroads  to  connect  the  interior  area  with  the  water's  edge, 
and  in  all  of  the  2,000,000  square  miles  included  within  the  Caribbean 
Islands  and  countries  fronting  thereon,  there  now  exists  but  23,000  miles 
of  railroads  or  less  than  those  of  France,  whose  area  is  about  one-tenth 
of  that  of  the  countries  and  islands  under  consideration.  In  the  absence 
of  the  power  to  develop  the  soil  and  mines  and  forests  or  to  transport 
their  products  to  a  common  carrier,  there  has  been  no  incentive  to  create 
the  common  carriers  which  would  connect  the  interior  with  the  water's 
edge. 

Influence  of  the  Internal  Combustion  Engine 

But  now  all  these  adverse  conditions  have  been  changed,  and  chiefly 
by  the  lessons  that  man  has  learned  in  very  recent  years  and  especially 
during  the  war  period,  to  utilize  the  power  of  internal  combustion  engines 
for  transportation  on  land  and  through  the  air,  by  the  automobile,  the 
truck  and  the  flying  machine,  and  also  to  utilize  this  same  power  in  farm 
tractors  for  cultivating  the  land  and,  in  a  modified  form,  for  the  develop- 
ment of  forests  and  mines.  As  a  consequence,  a  given  quantity  of  labor 
may  now  produce  many  times  that  prior  to  the  introduction  of  this  aid 
to  production,  and  its  transportation  may  be  accomplished  through  areas 
in  which  the  horse  or  ox  could  not  prove  available,  while  the  flying 
machine  enables  exploration  in  the  greatest  detail  and  the  study  of  new 
and  undeveloped  areas,  and  even  aids  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  trans- 
portation of  the  lighter  articles,  and  the  inter-communication  between  areas 
which  formerly  could  only  communicate  by  slow  and  toilsome  journeys. 

These  new  conditions  will  not  only  themselves  greatly  stimulate  the 
producing  power  of  the  Caribbean  area  but  will  at  the  same  time,  through 
the  aid  which  they  render  in  the  production  of  articles  greatly  demanded 
the  world  over,  attract  capital  from  the  temperate  zone,  both  for  the  devel- 
opment of  new  industries  and  the  construction  of  transportation  lines  to 
connect  the  interior  with  the  seaboard.  As  a  consequence  of  these  new 
conditions  and  of  the  lessons  learned  during  the  war  as  to  the  possibilities 
of  the  internal  combustion  engine,  the  whole  tropical  territory  seems  likely 

14 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

to  be  the  next  section  of  the  globe  to  receive  the  attention  of  man  from  the 
standpoint  of  new  producing  power  and  utilization  of  capital  accumulated 
in  the  temperate  zone.  And  of  all  the  tropical  areas,  this  fronting  upon  the 
Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  seems  most  likely  to  receive  prompt 
attention,  since  its  high  producing  power  per  acre  or  per  square  mile  is 
already  recognized  and  also  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  its  products  are  of  a 
class  of  merchandise  especially  demanded  in  comparatively  near  areas — 
sugar,  coffee,  cocoa,  India  rubber,  balata,  tobacco,  sisal,  cocoanuts,  and 
other  growths  suited  for  the  productions  of  vegetable  oils,  timber  of  a 
high  grade,  dye  woods,  fruits  and  also  great  possibilities  in  the  production 
of  food  animals,  especially  cattle. 

Growth  of  Our  Trade  With  Caribbean  Countries 

The  growth  of  trade  between  the  United  States  and  the  land  area 
fronting  upon  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  has  been  rapid,  especially 
in  recent  years.  It  totalled  in  1900,  $195,000,000,  in  1910,  $392,000,000, 
in  1919,  $1,005,000,000.  The  imports  from  the  countries  in  question 
were  in  1900,  $100,000,000,  in  1910,  $223,000,000,  in  1919,  $520,000,000, 
and  the  exports  to  those  countries  and  islands  in  1900,  $95,000,000,  in 
1910,  $169,000,000,  and  in  1919,  $485,000,000. 

Not  only  is  our  trade  with  the  countries  in  question  growing  rapidly, 
but  the  share  which  we  supply  of  their  imports  is  steadily  increasing  in 
practically  all  cases.  The  share  supplied  by  the  United  States  of  the 
imports  to  Cuba,  as  shown  by  the  official  figures  of  that  government, 
was  in  1914,  58%.  in  1918,  76%;  of  Santo  Domingo  in  1913,  62%,  in  1918, 
93%;  of  Haiti  in  1913,59%,  in  1919,90%;  of  Mexico  in  1913,  48%,  in 
1919,  85%;  of  Colombia  in  1913,  28%,  in  1919,  49%;  of  Venezuela,  in 
1914,  43%,  in  1918,  50%,  in  Costa  Rica,  in  1914,  53%,  in  1918,  61%; 
Guatemala,  in  1913,  50%,  in  1918,  66%;  of  Honduras,  in  1914,  79%,  in 
1918,  82%;  of  Nicaragua,  in  1914,  62%,  in  1918,  71%;  Panama  in  1914, 
41%,  in  1918,  87%;  of  Salvador  (which,  while  not  fronting  upon  the  Carib- 
bean, is  so  closely  associated  with  the  other  Central  American  countries 
as  to  justify  its  inclusion  in  this  discussion),  in  1914,  41%,  in  1918,  65%. 

These  facts  as  to  the  producing  power,  present  and  prospective,  of 
the  land  area  touching  the  waters  of  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
are  especially  important  to  the  United  States,  both  as  to  the  present  and 
in  the  future.  All  of  this  area  just  described — the  islands  of  these  tropical 
waters  and  the  lands  fronting  upon  it — produces,  almost  exclusively, 

15 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

tropical  growths : — sugar,  coffee,  cacao,  tobacco,  fruits,  nuts,  sisal,  cotton, 
rubber,  balata,  cabinet  woods,  dye  woods,  cocoanuts,  and  many  other 
oil  nuts  and  seeds,  as  well  as  many  other  articles  which  the  temperate 
zone  demands — must  have,  in  fact.  In  exchange  they  must  have  certain 
temperate  zone  products,  meats,  bread-stuffs,  clothing,  and  manufactures 
of  all  kinds,  for  the  manufacturing  industries  do  not  thrive  in  the  tropics. 
As  a  consequence  of  this  condition,  the  Caribbean  countries  must  look  to 
some  part  of  the  temperate  zone  as  a  market  for  their  products  and  also 
as  a  market  in  which  to  buy  their  requirements  of  food  and  clothing  and 
manufactures,  and  they  naturally  prefer  to  sell  their  goods  in  the  nearest 
possible  markets  and  to  purchase  their  requirements  in  the  nearest  possible 
markets. 

U.  S.  Is  the  Caribbean's  Great  Marketplace 

Such  a  market  for  their  products  and  for  supplying  their  requirements, 
they  find  in  the  United  States,  the  nearest  temperate  zone  area,  one  already 
densely  populated,  the  United  States  having  already  a  population  of  over 
100,000,000  with  a  high  per  capita  consuming  power  arid  large  produc- 
tions of  those  articles  which  the  tropics  must  have — wheat,  corn,  meats, 
cotton  goods  and  miscellaneous  manufactures.  Not  only  can  vessels  from 
their  ports  reach  the  mainland  of  the  United  States  in  a  few  hours'  time, 
but  rail  cars  loaded  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  now  pass  by  car 
ferry  to  Cuba,  the  largest  island  in  that  body  of  water,  without  breaking 
bulk,  and  after  unloading  their  goods  in  that  island,  load  again  with  Cuban 
products,  pass  the  loaded  cars  into  the  United  States  and  discharge  their 
freight  thousands  of  miles  into  the  interior,  without  breaking  bulk  en 
route.  This  system  can  easily  be  extended  to  the  other  islands.  Similar 
conditions  exist  as  to  rail  merchandise  passing  by  rail  across  the  Rio 
Grande  into  Mexico,  thence  into  Central  America;  while  steamships 
from  every  port  of  the  United  States,  whether  on  its  eastern  or  western 
coast,  now  pass  through  the  Panama  Canal,  touching  any  port  of  this 
great  tropical  area. 

It  is  not  surprising  then,  when  we  study  the  trade  relations  of  the 
temperate  zone  United  States,  with  these  extremely  tropical  areas  of  the 
Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to  find  that  nearly  three-fourths  of 
the  trade  of  that  area  is  already  with  this  country.  The  exports  of  the 
thirty  islands  and  countries  touching  the  waters  of  the  Caribbean  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  (exclusive  of  the  United  States  frontage),  aggregated 
in  the  year  1918,  $900,000,000,  and  70%  of  that  was  sent  to  the  United 

16 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

States.  Their  imports  aggregated  in  that  year  $700,000,000  and  71% 
thereof  was  drawn  from  the  United  States,  and  the  trade  with  the  United 
States  is  rapidly  growing. 

Cuba,  for  example,  which  sold  to  us  less  than  $100,000,000  worth  of 
merchandise  in  1909,  sent  us  $400,000,000  worth  in  1919.  Our  sales  to 
her  in  exchange  grew  from  $43,000,000  in  1909  to  $270,000,000  in  1919. 
Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo  sent  us  in  1909  $4,000,000  worth  of  merchandise 
and  in  1919  nearly  $25,000,000,  and  our  sales  to  that  island  meantime  in- 
creased from  $7,000,000  in  1909  to  $35,000,000  in  1919. 

The  Central  American  States,  fronting  upon  the  Caribbean,  sent  us 
in  1909,  $12,000,000  worth  of  merchandise  and  in  1919,  $45,000,000,  and 
we  sold  to  them  (exclusive  of  the  material  sent  to  our  Canal  Zone) 
$8,000,000  in  1909  and  $25,000,000  in  1919.  Colombia  sent  us  in  1909 
$7,000,000  of  her  products  and  $38,000,000  in  1919,  and  our  sales  to  her 
increased  from  $4,000,000  in  1909  to  $20,000,000  in  1919.  Venezuela 
sent  us  in  1909,  $8,000,000  worth  of  her  products  and  in  1919,  $30,000,000, 
and  our  exports  to  her  meantime  grew  from  $3,000,000  value  in  1909  to 
$13,000,000  in  1919. 

Our  next  door  neighbor,  Mexico,  which  fronts  upon  both  the  Carib- 
bean and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  sent  us  in  1919,  $48,000,000  worth  of  mer- 
chandise, and  despite  the  unsettled  conditions  which  have  prevailed  in 
that  country  in  recent  years,  increased  it  to  $148,000,000  in  1919,  while 
our  own  sales  to  her  increased  from  $50,000,000  in  1909  to  $131,000,000 
in  1919. 

The  Region  Is  Also  Buying  From  Us  More  Heavily 

Not  only  has  the  purchasing  power  of  these  Caribbean  Islands  and 
frontages  greatly  increased  in  recent  years,  but  the  share  of  their  imports 
which  they  are  taking  from  the  United  States  has  also  increased.  Ten 
years  ago,  Cuba  was  taking  but  about  one-half  of  her  imports  from  the 
United  States;  now  she  takes  75%. 

In  the  Central  American  group  the  share  taken  from  this  country  then 
ranged  from  30  to  68%;  now  it  ranges  from  60  to  90%.  Colombia,  which 
took  34%  of  her  imports  from  the  United  States  in  1909,  took  50%  from 
us  in  1919.  Venezuela  took  29%  of  her  imports  from  us  in  1909  and  50% 
in  1919.  Haiti,  which  took  64%  of  her  imports  from  us  in  1909,  took 
90%  of  the  greatly  increased  importation  in  1919.  The  Dominican 

17 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

Republic  increased  the  imports  which  she  took  from  us  from  56%  in  1909, 
to  93%  in  1919.  On  our  own  side,  we  also  increased  our  purchases  from 
all  of  these  islands  and  countries,  for  with  the  growth  in  demand  for  tropical 
products,  either  as  food  or  manufactures,  we  are  leaning  more  heavily 
than  ever  before  upon  our  neighbors  in  this  immediately  adjacent  territory. 

Exchanging  Raw  for  Finished  Products 

Still  another  reason  for  a  desire  on  our  part  to  trade  with  the  Carib- 
bean countries,  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  turn  out  what  we  most  desire 
to  purchase,  manufacturing  material  and  tropical  foodstuffs,  and  take 
from  us  what  we  most  desire  to  sell — manufactures.  We  are  not  anxious 
to  sell  our  natural  products.  Our  wheat,  and  corn,  and  meats,  and  raw 
cotton,  and  copper,  and  timber  sell  themselves.  The  world  wants  them 
and  comes  to  our  doors  begging  for  them. 

The  class  of  products  which  we  especially  desire  to  sell  is  manufactures, 
for  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  war  we  had  only  begun  the  exportation  of 
manufactures,  while  Europe,  with  its  old  manufacturing  facilities,  was 
controlling  its  world  markets  for  manufactured  products;  but  with  the 
enormous  increase  in  our  outturn  of  manufactures,  we  have  developed  a 
desire  to  find  markets  abroad,  and  this  class  of  markets  the  tropical 
world  opens  to  us  and  especially  the  nearby  tropical  areas  lying  within 
or  fronting  upon  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  A  close  exam- 
ination of  our  trade  with  them  shows  that  manufactures  form  more 
than  80%  of  the  total  merchandise  sent  to  them. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  business  public  of  the  United 
States,  the  manufacturers,  the  farmers,  the  exporters  and  importers,  the 
people  engaged  in  transportation,  and  the  people  supplying  funds  for  all 
these  industries — the  banks — have  become  intensely  interested  in  con- 
ditions present  and  prospective  of  the  industries,  transportation  and  finance, 
in  the  countries  referred  to.  This  interest  in  our  nearby  tropical  neighbors 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York  has 
established  within  the  countries  and  islands  above  mentioned  no  less 
than  forty  branches  within  the  last  five  years. 


18 


II 


The  Caribbean  Countries. 

Their  Production, 
Population,  Commercial 

Characteristics   and 
Business    Opportunities. 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 


The  Caribbean  Countries 

Their  Production,   Population,   Commercial   Characteristics 
and  Business  Opportunities 

THE  discussion  which  follows  presents  in  condensed  form  the  more 
important  facts  regarding  the  score  of  islands  and  countries  lying 
within,  or  bordering  upon,  the  Caribbean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Statistical  statements  regarding  their  commerce,  and  especially  that 
with  the  United  States,  for  a  considerable  term  of  years,  are  presented  in 
tables  following  this  discussion  regarding  their  respective  characteristics 
and  the  opportunities  which  they  respectively  offer  for  commerce  and 
industrial  development  of  a  character  likely  to  increase  commercial 
opportunities.  These  discussions,  covering  so  large  a  number  of  countries 
and  islands,  are  necessarily  in  condensed  form,  though  further  details 
which  may  be  desired  can  be  had  by  application  to  the  Statistical  Depart- 
ment of  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York.  The  discussions  as  to  the 
respective  countries  and  islands  are  presented,  as  a  matter  of  convenience 
for  reference,  in  alphabetical  form. 

Antilles  The  entire  group  of  islands  occupying  the  eastern  frontage 
of  the  Caribbean-Gulf  of  Mexico  area  is  frequently  designated 
as  the  Antilles,  and  this  title  is  sub-divided  by  including  as  the  Greater 
Antilles  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Haiti,  Porto  Rico  and  Jamaica,  while  the 
chain  of  smaller  islands  and  islets  stretching  from  Porto  Rico  southward 
in  a  semi-circular  form  to  the  coast  of  South  America  is  designated  as  the 
Lesser  Antilles.  This  second  group  is  further  sub-divided  into  Leeward 
Islands  and  Windward  Islands. 

This  designation  of  the  islands  of  this  great  American  sea  as  the 
Antilles  came  into  use  immediately  following  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Columbus.  For  a  long  time  before  the  actual  discovery  of  the  New 
World,  the  charts  purporting  to  represent  world  conditions  gave  to  this 
then  unexplored  section  of  the  globe  an  undefined  land  area  under  the 
title  of  Antilia,  figuring  sometimes  as  a  continuous  body  of  land  and 
in  other  cases  as  an  archipelago,  and  fluctuated  in  the  various  charts 
in  its  relation  to  the  other  land  bodies,  but  was  pictured  as  somewhere  in 
the  mid-ocean  between  the  Canaries,  off  the  west  coast  of  Europe,  and 
India. 

20 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

When,  however,  the  actual  discovery  of  America  was  announced, 
first  its  islands  and  then  the  adjacent  continental  lands,  the  entire  area 
was  referred  to  as  the  Ant  ilia  and  was  so  pictured  upon  world  charts, 
but  when  a  further  exploration  developed  the  fact  that  the  area  first  touched 
consisted  of  a  chain  of  islands,  the  entire  group  received  the  designation 
of  the  Antilles,  and  later  when  its  details  were  known,  the  total  was 
sub-divided,  the  larger  islands  being  designated  as  the  Greater  Antilles 
and  the  smaller  islands  the  Lesser  Antilles. 

The  entire  number  of  islands  and  islets  in  the  chain  stretching  from 
Porto  Rico  to  Venezuela  is  several  hundred  but  those  inhabited  and  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  considered  from  the  commercial  standpoint 
are  a  score  in  number. 

The  Leeward  group,  the  northerly  half  of  the  chain,  includes  our 
own  recently  purchased  Virgin  Islands,  which  lie  just  off  the  eastern 
coast  of  Porto  Rico;  then,  following  the  chain  southward,  the  islands 
of  St.  Kitts-Nevis  (with  Anquilla),  Antigua  (with  Barbuda  and  Redonda), 
Montserrat,  Guadeloupe  and  Dominica. 

The  Windward  group,  which  stretches  still  further  south  to  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  includes  Martinique,  Santa 
Lucia,  St.  Vincent  and  the  Grenadines.  Tobago  and  Trinidad,  lying 
still  further  south  and  very  near  to  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  are  not  usually 
classed  as  a  part  of  the  Windward  group. 

Practically  all  of  this  chain  of  islands  and  islets  stretching  from  Porto 
Rico  to  Venezuela  is  British  territory,  except  our  own  Virgin  Islands 
and  the  French  islands  of  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique,  which  lie  at  about 
the  center  of  the  chain,  Guadeloupe  falling  within  the  northern  group 
known  as  Leeward,  and  Martinique  in  the  more  southerly  group  known 
as  Windward. 

The  area  of  the  Leeward  Islands  as  a  whole  is  about  1,000  square 
miles,  and  that  of  the  Windward  Islands  approximately  750  square 
miles.  The  population  of  the  Leeward  group  is  about  150,000,  and  of  the 
Windward  about  200,000. 

The  importations  of  the  Leeward  group  amount  to  about  $5,000,000, 
and  those  of  the  Windward  Islands  to  about  a  like  sum,  while  the  exports 
are  in  each  case  about  equal  to  the  imports,  making  the  total  trade  of 
this  Lesser  Antilles  group  about  $20,000,000  per  annum,  of  which  approxi- 
mately one-half  is  with  the  United  States. 

21 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

Trinidad  and  its  adjacent  island  of  Tobago,  which  by  some  is  assumed 
to  be  a  part  of  the  Lesser  Antilles  chain,  lies  immediately  off  the  coast 
of  Venezuela,  and,  strictly  speaking,  is  not  a  part  of  the  Lesser  Antilles, 
and  is,  therefore,  discussed  elsewhere,  especially  as  its  population  and 
commerce  are  far  greater  than  those  of  the  entire  Lesser  Antilles  group. 

Bahama  The  Bahama  Islands — "Bahamas,"  as  they  are  usually 
Islands  termed — consist  of  a  group  of  twenty  inhabited  and  many 
uninhabited  islands  forming  the  northeastern  boundary  of 
the  great  body  of  water  designated  as  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
They  are  the  most  northerly  part  of  that  chain  of  islands  stretching  from 
the  southeastern  coast  of  the  United  States  to  the  northeastern  coast  of 
South  America,  which  chain  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  great 
inland  seas  lying  between  North  and  South  America,  and  bounded  on 
the  west  by  Central  America.  This  little  group  of  islands,  the  northern 
end  of  the  chain  stretching  from  eastern  Florida  to  northeastern  Ven- 
ezuela, lies  immediately  off  the  southeast  coast  of  Florida.  The  area  of 
the  entire  group  is  about  4,400  square  miles,  and  its  population  60,000. 

Their  industrial  and  producing  power  is,  however,  large  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  since  their  products  are  all  of  a  class  greatly 
in  demand  by  the  temperate  zone  world,  and  lying  within  a  very  short 
distance  of  the  great  consuming  markets  of  the  United  States.  Sisal, 
cotton,  cocoanuts,  pineapples,  oranges  and  other  tropical  fruits  are  among 
their  important  products,  the  sisal  industry  being  looked  upon  as  especially 
important  and  promising  a  great  future  since  the  adjacent  territory  of  the 
United  States  and  Cuba  require  large  quantities  of  material  in  the  pro- 
duction of  which  sisal  may  be  used,  including  bagging,  in  the  production 
of  which  sisal  is  proving  an  increased  factor.  Sponge  fishing  is  also  an 
important  industry  in  these  islands. 

The  most  important  island  in  the  group,  New  Providence,  with  a 
population  forming  about  one-quarter  that  of  the  entire  group,  lies  about 
fifty  miles  off  the  eastern  coast  of  Florida.  Its  chief  city  is  Nassau,  the 
seat  of  a  United  States  consul,  and  is  closely  connected  by  steamer  with 
the  ports  of  Florida,  while,  in  turn,  the  other  important  islands  of  the 
group  are  in  touch  with  Nassau,  the  capital  of  the  group  which  forms 
the  British  colony  of  Bahamas. 

The  total  commerce  of  the  Bahamas,  is  about  $2,000,000  per  annum, 
of  which  a  very  large  proportion  is  with  the  United  States.  The  States- 

22 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

man's  Year-Book  for  1919  states  that  84%  of  the  imports  are  from 
"America,**  chiefly  from  United  States,  and  of  the  exports  72%  to  "Amer- 
ica," chiefly  United  States.  The  future  possibilities  of  this  area  as  to  its 
producing  power  and,  therefore,  commercial  importance,  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  only  400,000  of  the  3,000,000  acres  in  the  habitable 
parts  of  the  islands  has  yet  been  granted  by  colonial  authorities,  implying 
that  the  present  producing  power  may  easily  be  greatly  increased  with 
the  newly  developed  methods  of  cultivation  and  inter-communication 
which  have  recently  come  to  the  entire  tropical  world  as  indicated  in  the 
general  discussion  of  the  future  of  the  Caribbean  area.  The  merchandise 
forming  the  imports  of  the  United  States  from  the  Bahamas  includes 
sisal,  cocoanuts,  fruits,  sponges  and  the  products  of  turtle  fishing.  Canning 
factories,  recently  established  in  the  island  for  canning  pineapples  and 
other  fruits,  send  most  of  their  products  to  the  United  States. 

The  merchandise  sent  from  the  United  States  to  the  Islands  consists  of 
cotton  goods,  flour,  machinery,  rice,  meats,  boots  and  shoes,  furniture 
and  miscellaneous  manufactures.  Of  the  shipping  entered  and  cleared 
in  the  last  year  for  which  figures  are  available,  484,000  tons  were  American 
and  45,000  tons  British.  The  total  value  of  the  shipments  from  the  Ba- 
hamas to  United  States  aggregate  about  $1,500,000,  and  the  value  of  their 
purchases  from  the  United  States  about  a  similar  sum. 

Barbados  Barbados  Island  is  the  most  easterly  of  the  entire  West 
Indian  group.  It  is  a  British  colony  with  soil  especially 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane,  also  cotton,  tobacco,  coffee, 
indigo  and  arrow  root.  There  are  numerous  sugar  mills,  and  the  fishing 
interests  are  also  of  considerable  importance. 

The  area,  166  square  miles,  already  supports  a  comparatively  dense 
population  approximating  200,000,  fully  75%  of  the  area  being  now 
under  cultivation  and  including  35,000  acres  under  sugar  cane,  producing 
about  55,000  tons  of  sugar.  There  are  about  325  sugar  works  which, 
under  normal  conditions,  send  a  great  proportion  to  the  mother  country, 
Great  Britain,  but  recently  an  increased  share  has  been  sent  to  the  United 
States,  and  also  the  share  which  the  United  States  supplies  of  the  imports 
into  that  island  has  increased.  Our  total  exports  to  Barbados  have  grown 
from  $1,452,000  in  1911  to  $3,750,000  in  1919,  and  consists,  as  in  most 
tropical  countries,  of  manufactures,  meats  and  flour.  Lying  as  it  does  at 
the  extreme  east  of  the  West  Indian  group,  its  trade  with  the  United 
States  has  been  small  in  proportion  to  the  total,  smaller  than  in  the  case 

23 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

of  those  islands  lying  nearer  to  our  own  ports.  The  share  of  its  trade  with  the 
United  States  will  probably  materially  increase  with  the  recent  establish- 
ment of  direct  steamship  lines  between  the  ports  of  the  eastern  frontage 
of  the  United  States  and  the  eastern  frontage  of  South  America. 

Colombia  Colombia  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  rapidly  de- 
veloping countries  of  the  tropical  section  of  South  America. 
Fronting  in  part  upon  the  Caribbean  and  in  part  upon  the  Pacific,  its 
transportation  facilities  with  other  parts  of  the  world  have  been  greatly 
increased  by  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal,  and  as  a  consequence, 
commerce  has  greatly  increased  and  the  development  of  its  producing 
powers  shows  a  large  increase. 

Large  sums  of  foreign  capital,  especially  British  and  American,  have 
been  recently  invested  in  the  mineral  and  other  industries  of  the  country, 
and  its  future  possibilities  are  very  great,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  there  are  yet  large  unoccupied  areas  with  unlimited  possibilities, 
both  agricultural  and  mineral.  Its  mineral  products  include  platinum, 
gold,  silver,  copper  and  petroleum. 

Colombia's  area  is  estimated  at  about  441,000  square  miles,  with  a 
coast  line  of  300,000  miles  about  equally  divided' between  the  Caribbean 
and  the  Pacific.  The  population  is  estimated  at  slightly  more  than 
5,000,000  exclusive  of  30,000  uncivilized  Indians.  The  capital,  Bogota, 
has  a  population  of  about  140,000  and  lies  8600  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
chief  commercial  cities  of  Colombia,  aside  from  Bogota,  are  Barranquilla 
on  the  Caribbean,  Cartagena  also  on  the  Caribbean  frontage,  Buena- 
ventura and  the  adjacent  city  of  Cali  on  the  Pacific  frontage,  Medellin 
in  the  interior  but  connected  by  rail  with  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
Magdalena.  Bogota  has  about  150,000  population,  Barranquilla  about 
50,000,  Cartagena  about  40,000,  Medellin  50,000,  Buenaventura  and  Cali 
in  combination  about  25,000.  The  National  City  Bank  has  branches  at 
Bogota,  the  capital,  Barranquilla  as  the  most-  important  commercial 
centre  on  the  Caribbean  frontage,  and  Medellin,  the  most  important 
commercial  centre  of  the  mining  regions,  in  the  interior. 

The  commerce  of  Colombia  has  increased  materially  during  the  war 
period.  Its  total  exports  in  1918,  the  latest  for  which  figures  are  available, 
was  $38,000,000,  and  the  imports  $22,000,000.  Seventy-two  per. cent, 
of  the  exports  are  sent  to  the  United  States  and  50%  of  the  imports 
drawn  from  United  States.  Our  own  figures  of  trade  with  Colombia 

24 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

show  an  increase  of  imports  from  there  of  $7,485,000  in  1910  to  $28,268,000 
in  1919,  while  our  exports  to  Colombia  have  grown  from  $3,980,000  in  1910 
to  $13,441,000  in  1919. 

Colombia's  industrial  and  commercial  future  is  full  of  promise. 
With  great  mineral  possibilities  in  platinum,  gold,  silver,  copper  and 
petroleum,  and  great  possibilities  in  cattle  growing  and  tropical  agricul- 
ture, she  needs  only  capital  for  the  development  of  railroads  and  the 
industries  and  additional  labor  for  the  operation  of  the  mines  and  haciendas 
and  the  railways  to  move  their  products  to  the  water's  edge. 

Costa  A  tropical  country  fronting  upon  the  waters  of  the  two 
Rica  greatest  oceans  of  the  world,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  produc- 
ing tropical  growths  of  all  kinds  and  also  important  minerals, 
and  lying  within  easy  reach  of  the  greatest  markets  of  the  world  and  upon 
trade  routes  which  extend  to  every  part  of  the  globe,  has  great  oppor- 
tunities industrially  and  commercially  and,  consequently,  financially. 
Such  a  country  is  Costa  Rica,  with  an  area  of  23,000  square  miles  or 
about  equivalent  to  the  state  of  West  Virginia  and  population  of  about 
a  half  million.  It  lies  immediately  north  of  the  Republic  of  Panama,  and, 
therefore,  is  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  the  great  trade 
routes  diverging  from  that  Canal  to  every  port  of  the  world,  and  especially 
in  close  touch  with  the  ports  and  markets  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  divided  into  two  distinct  sections  by  the  great  mountain  range 
which  extends  through  the  entire  area  known  as  Central  America.  Prob- 
ably three-quarters  of  the  land  capable  of  use  from  the  agricultural 
standpoint,  lies  east  of  this  range  and,  therefore,  is  distinctly  tributary 
to  the  Caribbean,  though  the  fact  that  the  Pacific  frontage  is  considerably 
longer  than  that  upon  the  Caribbean  more  equally  divides  the  actual 
producing  area  between  the  Caribbean  and  Pacific  frontages. 

Its  most  important  port  on  the  eastern  frontage  is  Limon,  which  is 
connected  by  rail  with  the  capital  city,  San  Jose,  about  200  miles  in  the 
interior,  with  a  population  (including"  suburbs)  of  about  50,000,  and  in 
turn,  connected  by  rail  with  Punta  Arenas  on  the  Pacific  frontage  about 
100  miles  distant.  The  population  of  Limon  is  stated  at  about  7,000 
and  that  of  Punta  Arenas  about  5,000,  while  other  cities  include  Cartago, 
with  population  of  13,000,  Heredia  8,000,  and  Alajuela  about  6,500. 

Coffee,  fruits  (especially  bananas),  corn,  sugar  cane,  rice  and  tobacco 
are  the  principal  agricultural  products,  while  the  live  stock  industry  is 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

important  and  has  great  possibilities  as  to  the  future.  The  areas  lying 
between  the  central  mountain  range  and  the  Caribbean  and  Pacific  front- 
ages offer  important  opportunities  for  stock  raising  and  the  number  of 
live  stock,  as  stated  in  the  last  official  record,  is  350,000  cattle,  65,000 
horses  and  75,000  swine,  while  the  goat  industry  is  of  considerable  im- 
portance in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  importation  of  goat  skins  into  the 
United  States  alone  now  exceeds  $75,000,000  per  annum.  It  is  in  the 
banana  and  coffee  industry,  however,  that  Costa  Rica  especially  excels 
from  the  agricultural  standpoint,  and  our  own  importations  from  that 
country  included  in  1918,  21,000,000  pounds  of  coffee  valued  at  over 
$2,000,000;  over  $4,000,000  worth  of  bananas  and  considerable  quantities 
of  hides  and  skins,  India  rubber,  cabinet  woods,  manganese  and  copper. 

Large  areas  have,  within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  been  cleared 
and  devoted  to  the  banana  industry,  this  development  having  been  chiefly 
through  activities  of  American  capital,  notably  the  United  Fruit  Com- 
pany. About  100,000  acres  are  devoted  to  the  banana  industry  producing, 
in  the  latest  year  for  which  statistics  are  available,  over  10,000,000  bunches, 
valued  at  over  $5,000,000.  A  large  proportion  of  these  bananas  pass  to 
the  United  States  ports  of  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  New  York  and  Boston, 
and  also  in  a  lesser  degree  to  ports  of  Europe,  especially  Great  Britain. 

The  coffee  industry  holds  second  rank  in  importance  while  the  possi- 
bilities as  to  the  mining  industry  are  looked  upon  as  important,  especially 
gold  and  silver  mining  on  the  Pacific  slope.  Several  districts  are  suriferous, 
and  mining  is  carried  on  in  the  districts  of  Abangarez,  Barranca  and 
Aguacata,  while  deposits  of  manganese  ore  in  the  Pacific  province  of 
Guanacaste  are  of  a  very  considerable  importance  and  now  form  an 
important  factor  in  the  export  trade. 

The  total  commerce  of  Costa  Rica  is  now  approximately  $20,000,000 
per  annum;  imports  are  about  $7,000,000  and  the  exports  $13,000,000. 
About  75%  of  the  exports  are  sent  to  the  United  States  and  over  60% 
of  the  imports  taken  from  the  United  States. 

Cuba  A  detailed  description  of  conditions  in  Cuba,  in  which  The 
National  City  Bank  has  twenty-five  branches,  is  presented  in  a 
special  publication  recently  issued  by  the  Bank  under  title  of  "Cuba — 
Review  of  Commercial,  Industrial  and  Economic  Conditions  in  1919," 
which  may  be  had  on  application  to  the  Bank.  It  shows  that  the  com- 
merce of  Cuba  in  1918  totaled  $673,000,000;  the  imports  alone  aggregated 

26 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

$302,000,000,  of  which  76%  were  taken  from  the  United  States,  and  the 
exports  $371,000,000,  of  which  72%  were  sent  to  the  United  States.  While 
complete  figures  of  Cuban  trade  in  1919  are  not  yet  available,  those  at 
hand  suggest  that  it  will  exceed  $800,000,000. 

Sugar,  of  course,  is  the  principal  product,  and  Cuba  is  now  clearly 
the  world's  largest  sugar  producer  with  a  total  output  of  approximately 
4,000,000  long  tons,  or  practically  25%  of  the  entire  world  sugar  output 
as  against  11%  of  the  world  output  prior  to  the  war.  Tobacco  is  also  an 
important  agricultural  crop,  while  live  stock,  timber  and  minerals  are 
also  extremely  important.  The  principal  articles  sent  to  the  United 
States  are  sugar,  tobacco,  iron  ore,  copper  ore,  hides,  skins  and  bananas; 
and  the  principal  articles  imported  from  the  United  States  include  meats, 
condensed  milk,  flour,  cotton  cloths,  boots  and  shoes,  machinery  for  the 
sugar  plantations  and  factories,  mineral  oil,  materials  for  railways,  and 
miscellaneous  manufactures. 

The  total  exports  from  the  United  States  to  Cuba  have  grown  from 
$26,000,000  in  1900  to  $270,000,000  in  the  calendar  year  1919,  and  the  im- 
ports from  $31,000,000  to  $418,000,000,  The  population  of  the  island 
is  stated  at  2,628,000.  Large  sums  of  American  capital  are  invested  in 
sugar  plantations,  railways,  mines  and  other  industries,  the  total  having 
been  estimated  at  approximately  $500,000,000.  Railway  cars  loaded  in 
any  part  of  the  United  States  may  now  discharge  their  freight  in  and 
part  of  Cuba  and  return  laden  with  Cuban  products,  which  are  passey 
to  the  United  States  without  breaking  bulk,  through  the  use  of  the  car 
ferry  steamers  plying  between  Key  West,  Florida,  and  Havana,  Cuba. 

Dominican  The  Dominican  Republic,  or  Santo  Domingo  as  fre- 
Republic  quently  designated,  which  occupies  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  island  of  Haiti,  is  not  only  of  great  importance 
at  the  present  time  in  the  production  and  commerce  of  the  Caribbean- 
Gulf  of  Mexico  area,  but  gives  great  promise  of  further  development  in 
soil,  climatic  conditions,  characteristic  products,  industry  of  the  people, 
stability  of  government,  and  the  investments  of  foreign  capital.  All 
suggest  for  the  Dominican  Republic  a  future  similar  to  that  of  the  Cuban 
Republic,  whose  prosperity  is  a  marvel  of  not  only  the  Caribbean  area 
but  of  the  entire  tropical  world. 

With  an  area  of  19,000  square  miles,  a  population  of  three-quarters 
of  a  million,  and  soil  and  climatic  conditions  similar  to  those  of  Cuba, 

27 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

its  possibilities  in  production  of  sugar,  tobacco,  cacao,  cocoanuts,  coffee, 
cattle  raising,  minerals,  and  timber  are  important,  and  of  constantly 
growing  importance,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  value  of  mer- 
chandise exported  from  the  Republic  has  advanced  from  $3,568,000  in 
1897  and  $6,896,000  in  1905  to  $10,470,000  in  1913  and  $22,400,000  in 
1918;  while  the  imports,  which  measure  the  purchasing  power,  have 
advanced  from  $9,000,000  in  1913  to  $20,000,000  in  1918.  Equally  im- 
portant is  the  fact  that  the  share  of  the  United  States  in  its  trade  is  steadily 
advancing.  Of  the  total  imports  of  $20,000,000  in  1918,  no  less  than  93% 
were  drawn  from  the  United  States,  and  of  its  exports  of  $22,500,000, 
83%  were  sent  to  the  United  States. 

Not  only  are  the  products  of  the  Dominican  Republic  of  a  type  now 
greatly  in  demand — sugar,  coffee,  cacao,  cocoanuts,  tobacco,  and  live 
stock  products — but  the  prospect  as  to  their  more  plentiful  production 
is  good  since  an  exceptionally  large  proportion  of  the  area  is  available  for 
cultivation  as  evidenced  by  the  assertion  of  The  Statesmen's  Year  Book 
that  "of  the  total  area,  18,045  square  miles,  about  15,500  is  cultivable." 
Sugar  growing,  it  adds,  "is  a  flourishing  industry." 

Our  own  trade  with  the  Dominican  Republic  has  grown  very  rapidly 
and  especially  since  the  establishment  of  the  United  States  receivership 
of  customs  and  adjustment  of  its  indebtedness  in  1905. 

The  chief  cities  are  Santo  Domingo,  the  capital,  founded  by  a  brother 
of  Christopher  Columbus,  with  a  present  population  of  about  25,000; 
Santiago,  15,000;  Puerto  Plata  and  San  Pedro  de  Macoris  about  12,000 
each;  La  Vega  approximately  8,000;  Samana,  Sanchez,  Azua,  Monte 
Cristi  and  San  Francisco  de  Macoris  with  populations  ranging  from 
4,000  to  5,000  each. 

Branches  of  the  International  Banking  Corporation,  owned  by  The 
National  City  Bank,  have  already  been  established  in  the  cities  of  Puerto 
Plata,  Sanchez,  San  Pedro  de  Macoris,  Santiago  de  los  Caballeros  and 
Santo  Domingo  City. 

The  United  States  government  has  evinced  a  friendly  attitude  toward 
the  Dominican  Republic,  intervening  on  several  occasions  to  prevent 
domestic  dissensions  and  warfare,  and  in  1905  entered  into  an  arrangement 
with  the  Dominican  Government  for  the  adjustment  of  its  comparatively 
large  indebtedness,  taking  charge  of  the  custom  houses  and  applying 
the  receipts  to  payment  of  interest  on  the  actual  indebtedness  and  such 

28 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

additional  sums  as  might  be  available  for  reduction  of  the  principal  of 
the  debt.  The  foreign  claims  against  the  Republic  were  about  $20,000,000 
but  were,  in  many  instances,  found  excessive  and  materially  reduced, 
the  indebtedness  at  the  present  time  standing  at  about  $13,000,000  al- 
though rery  considerable  expenditures  have  been  made  in  the  meantime 
in  the  developing  process — especially  roads  and  other  transportation 
facilities.  The  railways,  which  aggregate  about  100  miles  in  length, 
are  in  part  owned  by  British  companies,  and  in  a  small  part  by  the 
Dominican  Government. 

Sugar  growing  is  the  most  important  of  the  local  industries,  the  crop 
of  the  sugar  year  1919-20  being  estimated  at  180,000  tons  as  against 
85,000  tons  in  1912-13.  Considerable  sums  of  American  capital  have  been 
embarked  in  the  sugar  and  other  industries  of  the  Island  in  recent 
years. 

The  future  of  the  relations  of  the  United  States  with  the  Dominican 
Republic  are  promising.  The  population  originally,  to  some  extent, 
was  resentful  of  the  intervention  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  but  is 
now  recognizing  its  value  as  based  upon  entirely  unselfish  motives,  and 
reports  from  those  in  close  touch  with  the  people  of  the  island  indicate 
that  "friendly  feelings  and  appreciation  will  come"  in  the  immediate 
future. 

"The  Dominican  administration,'*  according  to  a  recently  published 
review  of  conditions  in  the  Republic,  "is  strongly  in  favor  of 
closer  trade  relations  between  the  two  countries" — and  has,  it  is 
understood,  already  made  recommendations  to  Washington  with  a 
view  to  securing  special  consideration  for  Dominican  products  entering 
the  United  States  in  return  for  similar  special  considerations  for  American 
goods  entering  that  Republic,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  some 
arrangement,  similar  to  that  in  effect  between  the  United  States  and  Cuba, 
should  be  the  outgrowth.  The  writer  adds,  however,  that  care  must  be 
exercised  by  those  interested  in  retaining  the  large  measure  which  we  now 
have  in  the  Dominican  trade  in  view  of  the  fact  that  "European  manu- 
facturers who  were,  during  the  war,  forced  to  abandon  the  field,  are  again 
sending  in  their  representatives  with  a  view  to  regaining  their  former 
position."  Statistical  statements  showing  the  character  of  the  trade 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Republic  are  presented  on  another 
page  of  this  publication.  Manufactures  and  foodstuffs  are  our  chief 
exports  to  Santo  Domingo,  and  the  trade  is  growing  rapidly. 

29 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

Dutch  The  Dutch  possessions  in  the  area  under  consideration 
West  include  Dutch  Guiana,  which  is  described  under  the  general 
Indies  heading  of  the  Guianas,  and  the  group  of  islands  known  under 
the  general  title  of  Curacao.  The  group  includes  the  islands 
of  Curacao,  with  an  area  of  210  square  miles;  Bonaire,  95  square  miles; 
Aruba,  69  square  miles;  St.  Martin,  17  square  miles,  partly  belonging  to  the 
Netherlands  and  part  to  France;  St.  Eustache  and  Saba,  about  5  square 
miles  each,  making  the  total  area  of  the  Dutch  colony  designated  as 
Dutch  West  Indian  Island  Colony  or  Curacao  403  square  miles,  with  a 
total  population  of  60,000,  of  which  about  35,000  are  on  the  island  of 
Curacao.  The  group  lies  about  70  miles  off  the  northern  coast  of  Venezuela 
and  about  midway  between  Caracas  and  Maracaibo. 

The  imports,  prior  to  the  recent  increase  in  prices  of  sugar,  coffee, 
cocoa  and  other  articles  of  this  character,  were  approximately  $3,000,000 
per  annum  and  the  exports  slightly  less  than  that  sum,  but  both  have 
materially  increased  since  the  war  period.  The  trade  of  the  islands  is 
very  largely  with  the  United  States  and  our  own  imports  from  them  in 
1919  were  $3,127,000,  and  our  exports  to  them  $1,915,000. 

French  The  French  possessions  within  the  area  under  consideration 
West  include  two  islands — Guadeloupe  and  Martinique — usually 
Indies  designated  the  "French  West  Indies,"  and  the  section  of 
South  American  mainland  known  as  French  Guiana,  des- 
cribed in  the  general  discussion  of  the  Guiana  territory. 

Guadeloupe,  situated  in  the  Lesser  Antilles,  consists  of  two  islands 
separated  by  a  narrow  channel.  Their  joint  population  is  about  215,000. 
The  imports  of  1917  were  $7,650,000  and  the  exports  $9,450,000.  Most  of 
the  trade  is  with  France,  with  which  it  is  in  direct  communication  by  means 
of  two  steam  navigation  companies. 

The  island  of  Martinique,  which  lies  still  further  south  in  the  Little 
Antilles  chain,  has  an  area  of  385  square  miles  and  a  population  of  about 
200,000;  imports  $11,100,000  and  exports  $16,450,000.  It  is  closely 
connected  with  the  mother  country,  France,  by  the  same  steamship 
lines  which  operate  between  France  and  Guadeloupe. 

Sugar,  rum,  cacao,  tobacco,  coffee,  citrus  fruits,  hides  and  cabinet 
woods  are  the  products  of  the  islands  and  their  trade  is  chiefly  with  France. 
Our  own  imports  from  the  islands  were,  in  1919,  but  $56,000,  though  the 
exports  to  them  have  greatly  increased  during  the  war  and  totalled  in 

30 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

1918  $5,357,000,  and  in  1919  $8,781,000,  consisting  chiefly  of  flour,  meats, 
food  oils,  cod  fish,  cotton  cloths  and  miscellaneous  manufactures. 

Guatemala  Guatemala,  which  lies  at  the  extreme  northern  end  of 
the  Central  American  group  of  countries,  is  thus  in  very 
close  touch  with  the  ports  of  the  United  States,  and  especially  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  it  fronts  upon  both  the  Caribbean  and  the  Pacific.  Vessels 
from  her  eastern  ports  touch  New  Orleans  or  Mobile  with  a  sailing  dis- 
tance of  but  about  1,000  miles,  and  her  western  ports  lie  nearer  to  San 
Francisco  than  do  any  of  the  Latin- American  ports  except  those  of  western 
Mexico.  Her  trade,  therefore,  is  of  special  importance  to  the  United  States. 
It  aggregates,  in  round  terms,  $20,000,000  per  year,  and  quite  naturally 
a  very  large  percentage  is  with  the  United  States,  her  nearest  neighbor. 
Of  her  exports  in  1918,  72%  were  sent  to  the  United  States;  and  of  her 
imports  66%  were  drawn  from  United  States. 

The  producing  power  of  Guatemala  includes  a  larger  number  of  ar- 
ticles than  is  the  case  with  many  other  of  the  tropical  areas  under  dis- 
cussion. The  great  mountain  chain  which  stretches  from  Mexico  through 
the  entire  Central  American  area  divides  here  into  two  distinct  sections, 
leaving  a  broad  valley  in  the  interior,  considerably  elevated  above  the 
ocean,  and,  therefore,  with  a  comparatively  temperate  climate  and  capable 
of  producing  certain  temperate  zone  products,  while  the  sections  fronting 
upon  the  Caribbean  and  the  Pacific,  respectively,  have  more  of  the 
tropical  characteristics.  Wheat,  corn,  beans,  and  other  temperate  zone 
products  are  successfully  grown  in  the  more  elevated  regions,  coffee  on 
the  mountain  slopes,  and  in  the  sections  fronting  upon  the  Caribbean  and 
Pacific  grow  sugar  cane,  bananas,  cocoanuts  and  other  distinctly  tropical 
products. 

Coffee  is  the  most  important  single  product  of  agriculture,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  it  usually  forms  about  four-fifths  of  the  value  of  the 
merchandise  exported,  the  other  principal  exports  being  bananas,  hides, 
sugar  and  small  quantities  of  rubber.  The  great  plateau  of  the  interior 
lying  between  the  two  mountain  chains  offers  great  possibilities  in  live 
stock  growing,  especially  cattle  and  horses,  the  total  number  of  cattle 
in  this  small  republic,  no  larger  than  our  state  of  North  Carolina,  being 
about  750,000,  horses  and  mules  125,000,  sheep  450,000,  swine  200,000, 
and  goats  60,000,  bringing  the  total  live  stock  in  this  apparently  small 
area  to  nearly  2,000,000  and  illustrating  its  possibilities  as  a  contributor 
of  foodstuffs  to  the  markets  of  the  United  States.  In  addition  to  this, 

31 


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TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

its  strictly  tropical  products  are  greatly  in  demand  with  us,  especially 
coffee,  sugar,  bananas,  cacao,  India  rubber,  hides  and  cabinet  woods. 

Her  principal  imports  are  cotton  cloths,  manufactures  of  iron  and 
steel,  manufactures  of  leather,  and  foodstuffs,  a  very  large  proportion 
of  which  she  draws  from  the  United  States. 

The  possibilities  as  to  the  minerals  are  also  considered  very  great,  in- 
cluding gold,  silver,  copper,  iron  and  lead  mines,  but  conditions  of  trans- 
portation have  up  to  this  time  rendered  their  development  comparatively 
difficult,  especially  as  they  exist  in  most  cases  in  the  extreme  interior  of 
the  country.  One  railway  line  crosses  the  interior  area  of  the  country 
from  Puerto  Barrios  on  the  Caribbean  frontage  to  Guatemala  City,  the 
capital,  a  distance  of  200  miles,  and  runs  thence  westward  to  the  port  of 
San  Jose  de  Guatemala  on  the  Pacific  frontage,  a  distance  of  75  miles. 
The  company  owning  and  operating  this  route,  the  International  Railway 
of  Central  America,  has  also  under  construction  several  short  north  and 
south  lines  which  are  to  connect  with  the  railway  system  of  Mexico  at 
the  north  and  extend  southward  into  the  adjacent  republic  of  Salvador, 
thence  through  Honduras  and  Nicaragua  to  Costa  Rica  and  Panama, 
thus  placing  Guatemala  on  a  continuous  railway  line  connecting  the 
United  _  States  through  Mexico,  Guatemala,  Salvador,  Honduras,  Nica- 
ragua, Costa  Rica  and  Panama  with  its  Panama  Canal,  from  which  lines 
will  extend  still  further  south  through  southern  Panama  into  Colombia, 
and  perhaps  eastward  into  Venezuela.  The  total  length  of  the  railways 
in  Guatemala  is  over  500  miles,  owned  chiefly  by  United  States  and 
German  capital. 

The  trade  of  the  United  States  with  Guatemala  has  grown  rapidly,  the 
exports  to  that  country  advancing  from  three-quarters  of  a  million  dollars 
in  1900  to  $6,000,000  in  1919,  and  the  imports  from  Guatemala  increasing 
from  $2,400,000  in  1900  to  $11,100,000  in  1919.  The  principal  cities  are 
the  capital,  the  City  of  Guatemala,  which  had  at  the  date  of  its  earthquake 
disaster  in  1910  about  90,000  inhabitants,  and  is  being  rebuilt  as  rapidly 
as  circumstances  will  permit;  Coban,  which  lies  about  ninety  miles  north 
of  the  City  of  Guatemala,  31,000;  Quezaltenango  near  the  Pacific  frontage, 
29,000;  Totonicapan,  the  capital  of  the  most  densely  populated  province 
of  Guatemala,  28,000;  and  Puerto  Barrios  on  the  Caribbean  frontage  is 
especially  important  as  the  point  at  which  shipments  by  steamer  on  the 
Caribbean  are  transferred  to  the  railway  lines,  extending  to  the  capital, 
Guatemala  City,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific  frontage. 

34 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

The  The  Guianas,   British,   Dutch  and    French,   which  will  be 

Guianas  respectively  considered  in  the  discussion  which  follows,  are, 
in  fact,  only  a  small  part  of  the  South  American  territory 
originally  bearing  the  title  of  "Guiana."  Originally,  the  area  designated  as 
"Guiana"or  "Guianas"  was  that  occupied  by  a  certain  great  group  or  tribe  of 
natives  calling  themselves  "Guianas,"  occupying  the  northeastern  section 
of  the  South  American  continent  extending  from  the  Amazon  at  the 
south  to  the  Orinoco  at  the  north,  and  stretching  westwardly  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Negro  Rio  and  upper  Orinoco  Rivers.  That  vast  area, 
1200  miles  from  east  to  west  and  800  miles  from  north  to  south, 
comprises  about  700,000  square  miles  known  a  couple  of  centuries  ago  as 
"Guiana"  or  "Guianas." 

This  was  subsequently  subdivided,  the  northwestern  section  falling 
to  Venezuela,  the  southeastern  section  to  Brazil  and  the  central  section, 
bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Humac  and  Acarai  Mountains  and  on  the 
west  also  by  a  mountain  chain,  is  now  known  as  British  Guiana,  Dutch 
Guiana  and  French  Guiana,  British  Guiana  occupying  the  western, 
Dutch  Guiana  the  central  and  French  Guiana  the  eastern  sections,  each 
having  an  ample  ocean  frontage  and  extending  southward  to  the  moun- 
tain chains  above  named.  These  three  areas,  British  Guiana,  Dutch 
Guiana  and  French  Guiana,  are,  as  the  names  imply,  colonies  of  Great 
Britain,  Netherlands,  and  France,  respectively,  and  are  administered  by 
governors  and  other  officials  appointed  from  those  respective  govern- 
ments. 

The  capital  and  chief  city  of  British  Guiana  is  Georgetown,  often 
called  "Demerara,"  with  a  population  of  about  60,000  and,  as  indicated 
above,  is  its  chief  port,  having  the  benefit  of  the  navigation  on  the  Demerara 
River  and  the  hundred  miles  of  railway  running  along  the  coast  and  con- 
necting with  the  port  of  New  Amsterdam.  Dutch  Guiana's  capital  and 
principal  port  is  Paramaribo,  having  several  waterways  extending  into 
the  interior  and  served  by  small  steamers  and  a  limited  railway  service. 
The  population  of  Paramaribo  is  about  45,000.  The  capital  of  French 
Guiana  is  Cayenne,  with  a  population  of  about  15,000,  depending  chiefly 
upon  river  transportation  for  its  connection  with  the  interior.  All  of  these 
chief  port  cities  and  capitals  of  the  Guianas — Georgetown,  Paramaribo 
and  Cayenne — are  in  close  steamship  connection  with  other  ports  of  the 
world,  lying,  as  they  do,  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  the 
United  States  on  the  north  and  in  the  tracks  of  all  steamship  lines  con- 
necting the  ports  of  United  States  with  those  of  eastern  South  America. 

35 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

British  Guiana  has  an  area  of  about  90,000  square  miles,  a  population 
of  slightly  more  than  300,000,  imports  ranging  from  $15,000,000  to 
$18,000,000,  exports  ranging  from  $20,000,000  to  $25,000,000,  and  about 
100  miles  of  railway. 

Dutch  Guiana,  officially  designated  by  the  Netherland  government  as 
"Surinam,"  has  an  area  of  about  46,000  square  miles,  a  population  of  about 
100,000,  imports  about  $3,000,000  per  annum  and  exports  about  $3,500,000. 
It  has  also  several  small  islands  lying  immediately  off  the  coast,  including 
Curacao,  with  an  area  of  about  200  square  miles  and  population  of  35,000, 
and  several  smaller  islands  with  a  much  smaller  population  than  that  of 
Curacao. 

French  Guiana,  or  "Cayenne"  as  it  is  sometimes  officially  designated, 
lies  immediately  east  of  Dutch  Guiana,  and  has  an  ample  ocean  frontage. 
Its  area  is  32,000  square  miles,  population  50,000  and  its  chief  port  Cay- 
enne. The  remainder  of  the  original  Guianas  area,  now  included  in  Vene- 
zuela at  the  west  and  Brazil  at  the  south,  no  longer  bears  any  official  title 
to  designate  it  as  once  a  part  of  the  great  Guiana  area  which,  according 
to  geographers  of  a  century  ago,  was  Guiana.  The  imports  of  French 
Guiana  aggregate  about  $2,000,000  per  year  and  the  exports  about 
$2,500,000. 

The  three  political  districts  retaining  that  name,  British  Guiana, 
Dutch  Guiana  and  French  Guiana,  have  thus  an  aggregate  area  of  about 
170,000  square  miles,  a  population  of  450,000,  or  if  the  uncivilized  Indians 
were  included,  about  500,000.  Their  imports  aggregate  about  $23,000,000 
and  their  exports  about  $30,000,000. 

In  physical  geography  the  three  Guianas  present  many  common 
characteristics.  The  great  warm  water  current,  already  described,  which 
sweeps  across  the  southern  Atlantic  just  below  the  equator  and  reaches 
South  America  carrying  all  the  moisture  that  air  can  carry,  crosses 
the  Guianas  which  lie  only  3°  north  of  the  equator,  thus  giving  them  a 
peculiar  climatic  condition  of  extreme  heat  and  a  plentiful,  if  not  excessive, 
supply  of  moisture  at  a  high  temperature,  this  condition  being  practically 
continuous  during  the  entire  year. 

As  a  consequence,  its  rivers,  which  flow  down  from  the  mountains  at 
the  south  and  west,  most  of  them  flowing  almost  directly  north,  bring 
great  quantities  of  soil  from  the  upper  regions  and  have  developed,  in 
conjunction  with  the  waters  of  the  ocean  a  "fluviomarine"  deposit  ex- 

36 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

tending  inland  and  gradually  rising  to  a  height  of  ten  to  fifteen  feet  above 
the  sea.  This  "fluviomarine"  deposit  varies  in  width  from  twenty  to 
fifty  miles  and  has  ridges  of  sand  and  shell.  By  draining  and  diking  of 
these  lands,  plantations  have  been  formed  along  the  coast  and  up  the 
rivers  which  are  large  producers  of  sugar,  coffee,  cacao,  cocoanuts,  rice, 
bananas,  gutta  percha,  indigo,  rubber,  balata,  cattle  and  cotton,  while  cer- 
tain important  metals  and  minerals,  including  diamonds,  gold,  silver,  iron, 
phosphates,  manganese  ore,  mica  and  bauxite  are  found  in  greater  or 
less  quantities  in  the  interior  and  give  promise  of  large  importance  with 
the  application  of  the  necessary  capital  and  labor  for  their  development. 
The  sugar  possibilities  are  very  great. 

Our  own  trade  with  the  Guianas  now  aggregates  about  $10,000,000 
per  annum,  chiefly  exports.  The  total  exports  of  the  United  States  to 
British  Guiana  will  average  between  $5,000,000  and  $6,000,000  per 
annum,  to  Dutch  Guiana  about  $1,500,000  per  annum  and  to  French 
Guiana  $1,000,000,  while  the  imports  from  British  Guiana  run  below  a 
half  million  dollars,  those  from  Dutch  Guiana  in  1909  were  nearly  $1,000- 
000,  and  those  from  French  Guiana  extremely  small.  These  colonies 
produce  many  articles  for  which  the  United  States  offers  a  large  market, 
including  sugar,  cacao,  coffee,  capra,  India  rubber,  balata  and  gutta 
percha,  and  their  requirements  are  of  the  class  of  materials  produced  in  the 
United  States — cotton  cloths  and  other  miscellaneous  manufactures, 
flour,  meat  and  mining  machinery. 

Haiti  The  Republic  of  Haiti,  which  occupies  the  western  part  of  the 
island  of  Haiti,  is  smaller  in  size  than  its  sister  Republic  of  Santo 
Domingo,  which  occupies  the  eastern  end  of  the  island,  the  Haitian  Re- 
public being  11,100  square  miles  as  against  19,300  square  miles  in  the 
Dominican  Republic,  but  has  a  population  estimated  at  2,500,000  as  against 
an  estimated  population  of  725,000  in  the  Dominican  Republic.  The 
principal  products  of  Haiti  are,  up  to  this  time,  those  of  agriculture — coffee, 
tobacco,  cotton,  sugar,  cacao,  hides  and  skins,  honey — while  forest  pro- 
ducts, including  logwood,  are  of  very  considerable  and  growing  importance. 
The  mining  possibilities  are  looked  upon  as  important  and  include,  ac- 
cording to  a  recent  issue  of  the  Statesman's  Year  Book,  gold,  silver,  iron, 
antimony,  copper,  tin,  sulphur,  coal,  kaolin,  nickel,  gypsum,  limestone 
and  porphyry,  which,  it  adds,  up  to  this  time  have  been  but  little  worked, 
though  some  effort  has  been  made  to  work  copper  mines  within  the  last  few 
years  and  concessions  have  been  granted  for  mining  coal,  iron  and  copper. 

37 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

The  exports  in  1917  (a  year  in  which  ships  were  scarce)  included 
47,434,000  pounds  of  coffee,  4,896,000  pounds  of  cacao,  8,382,000 
pounds  of  cotton  and  56,760,000  pounds  of  logwood.  The  chief  imports 
are  cotton  goods,  sacks  for  coffee  and  cacao  shipments,  flour,  lard, 
kerosene,  iron-work  and  machinery.  The  value  of  the  imports  in 
1917  was  $10,000,000,  of  which  $9,000,000  or  90%  were  from  the 
United  States,  and  the  exports  $13,000,000,  of  which  $3,500,000  or 
27%  were  to  the  United  States.  The  sugar  possibilities  have  had  less 
attention  than  those  of  the  Dominican  Republic,  and  the  output  for  the 
1919-20  season,  as  estimated  by  Willett  and  Gray,  5,000  tons  as  against 
3,300  in  1918-19.  Several  sugar  centrales  have  been  recently  established 
with  prospect  of  a  material  increase  in  the  output  in  the  near  future. 

Port-au-Prince,  at  the  head  of  the  great  Bay  of  Gonaives,  which  opens 
upon  the  Windward  Passage,  separating  the  island  of  Haiti  from  the  island 
of  Cuba,  is  the  capital  and  chief  city,  having  a  population  of  about  120,000, 
and  is  the  principal  seaport  of  the  Republic. 

Cape  Haiti,  another  important  port,  has  an  estimated  population  of 
25,000;  Jacmel,  20,000;  Aux  Cayes  about  15,000. 

A  railway  is  now  under  construction  to  connect  Port-au-Prince  with 
Cape  Haiti,  about  165  miles  by  the  proposed  railway  line.  The  principal 
towns  are  connected  by  the  government  telegraph  system.  A  cable  line 
runs  from  Port-au-Prince  to  Cape  Haiti  and  thence  to  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
Puerto  Plata  in  Santo  Domingo,  and  to  South  America,  while  a  close 
cable  connection  with  the  United  States  is  obtained  through  the  Cuban 
land  and  cable  lines  by  way  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  and  wireless  to  Haiti. 

A  treaty  between  the  Haitian  government  and  that  of  the  United 
States  provides  for  the  cooperation  of  the  United  States  government  in 
administration  of  Haitian  finances  and  maintenence  of  order,  thus 
assuring  stability  of  government  and  safety  to  investment  of 
capital  in  the  development  of  the  great  agricultural  and  other  industrial 
possibilities  of  the  Republic,  and  is  described  as  "a  virtual  protectorate 
by  the  United  States  over  Haiti."  Considerable  sums  of  American  capital 
have  been  invested  in  the  construction  of  railways,  and  the  prospect  of 
the  development  of  an  important  sugar  industry,  which  in  the  past  has 
received  comparatively  little  attention,  is  extremely  good. 

Honduras      The   Republic   of   Honduras  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the 

Central  American  republics,  with  an  area  of  44,000  square 

miles,  though  in  population  it  is  materially  less  than  others  having  a  smaller 

38 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

area.  The  total  population  of  the  Republic  of  Honduras  is  stated  at 
562,000.  Its  imports  in  1917  were  $6,300,000  of  which  $5,100,000  or  82% 
were  from  the  United  States,  and  the  exports  were  $5,400,000,  of  which 
$5,000,000  or  93%  were  sent  to  the  United  States.  This  large  percentage 
of  its  trade  with  the  United  States  is  not  surprising  when  we  study  the 
geographical  position  of  Honduras,  which  is  one  of  the  northernmost 
republics  of  the  Central  American  area,  being  on  the  direct  route  of  vessels 
passing  between  the  Panama  Canal  and  the  southern  and  eastern  ports 
of  the  United  States.  Its  area  is  only  slightly  less  than  that  of  Nicaragua, 
which  lies  at  the  immediate  south,  or  Guatemala,  which  lies  at  the  im- 
mediate west,  and  its  population  is  materially  less  than  that  of  Nicaragua 
and  but  about  one-quarter  that  of  Guatemala. 

The  capital,  Tegucigalpa,  has  a  population  of  about  30,000,  and  the 
other  principal  cities  and  towns,  La  Esperanza  about  12,000;  Santa  Rosa 
11,000;  Nacaome  8,500.  Tegucigalpa  lies  in  the  interior,  reached  by 
motor  road  from  Trujillo,  the  chief  northern  port  of  the  Republic,  and  also 
from  Choluteca  on  the  Pacific  frontage,  for  Honduras  has  the  advantage 
of  a  double  frontage,  a  long  line  on  the  Caribbean  and  a  short  but  important 
frontage  on  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca  upon  the  Pacific.  There  is  a  railway 
running  along  the  northern  frontage  connected  with  Tegucigalpa  and 
Puerta  Cortez,  and  is  proving  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of 
the  banana  lands  along  the  northern  frontage,  for  the  banana  and  cocoa- 
nut  industries  are  among  the  most  important  of  the  Republic. 

The  cocoanut  groves,  extending  from  the  Ulua  River  to  the  Cuero 
River,  a  distance  of  about  sixty  miles,  have  about  30,000  bearing  trees, 
while  coffee  of  fine  quality  is  grown,  and  the  industry  is  increasing.  Cattle 
raising  is  also  one  of  the  chief  agricultural  interests  of  the  Republic,  the 
number  of  cattle  ranches  being  stated  at  about  1600  and  the  total  number 
of  farms  3700,  total  number  of  cattle  490,000,  and  of  horses  and  mules 
90,000.  Bananas,  cocoanuts,  coffee,  hides,  rubber,  cattle,  logwood,  mahog- 
any, corozo  (a  palm  nut)  and  sugar  are  the  principal  exports,  and  cotton 
goods,  machinery  and  miscellaneous  manufactures  are  the  chief  imports. 

The  little  territory  of  British  Honduras  lies  at  the  north,  fronting  also 
upon  the  Caribbean  but  separated  from  the  Republic  of  Honduras  by  the 
Gulf  of  Honduras  and  a  narrow  belt  of  Guatemalan  territory  which  gives 
to  Guatemala  a  frontage  upon  the  Caribbean.  The  distance  between  the 
northwestern  border  of  the  Republic  of  Honduras  and  the  southeastern 
border  of  the  colony  of  British  Honduras  is  about  fifty  miles  "as  the  crow 

39 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

flies,"  but  a  much  greater  distance  if  the  sinuosities  of  the  coastly  frontage 
of  Guatemala  separating  the  two  Hondurases  were  followed. 

The  area  of  British  Honduras  is  small  compared  with  that  of  the 
Republic  of  Honduras,  only  8600  as  against  44,000  square  miles  of  the 
Republic,  and  the  population  of  British  Honduras  43.000  as  against 
562,000  in  the  Republic  of  Honduras.  The  British  area  has  total  imports 
of  about  $2,600,000  as  against  $6,300,000  into  the  Republic  of  Honduras; 
the  percentage  of  the  imports  drawn  from  the  United  States  is  practically 
identical,  89%  in  the  case  of  British  Honduras  and  82%  in  the  case  of  the 
Republic  of  Honduras;  the  exports  of  British  Honduras  are  $2,600,000 
of  which  75%  were  to  the  United  States,  and  those  of  the  Republic  $5,400- 
000,  of  which  73%  were  to  the  United  States. 

The  possibilities  of  developing  power  production  in  both  these  areas 
are  very  great,  and  therefore,  like  possibilities  in  the  development  of 
commerce,  for  their  possible  products  are  in  all  cases  of  a  class  demanded 
by  the  temperate  zone  section  of  the  world — coffee,  India  rubber,  cacao, 
indigo,  bananas,  live  stock  products  and  valuable  timber. 

Jamaica  Next  in  importance  among  the  West  Indian  Islands  after 
Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  Haiti,  is  the  island  of  Jamaica,  a 
British  colony  since  1655.  The  British  West  Indian  possessions  as  a  whole, 
fall  into  six  groups — first,  the  Bahamas;  second,  the  Barbados  (both  of 
which  have  already  been  discussed);  third,  Jamaica  with  Turks  Islands; 
fourth,  Trinidad  and  Tobago;  fifth,  Leeward  Islands;  sixth,  Windward 
Islands.  They  are  all  a  part  of  that  chain  of  islands  forming  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  Caribbean-Gulf  of  Mexico  Basin. 

Jamaica  lies  nearer  to  the  centre  of  that  basin  than  any  other  island 
of  the  great  group.  It  is  immediately  south  of  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba, 
immediately  west  of  the  island  of  Haiti,  and  immediately  east  of  the  Mexican 
Peninsula  of  Yucatan.  Its  area  is  much  less  than  that  of  Cuba  or  the 
island  of  Haiti  but  slightly  more  than  that  of  Porto  Rico.  The  area  is 
4,200  square  miles,  the  population  894,000,  the  imports  in  1917  $16,200,000, 
of  which  $8,100,000,  or  just  50%,  were  from  the  United  States;  the  exports 
were  $12,000,000,  of  which  $3,400,000,  or  28%,  were  to  the  United  States. 

The  share  which  it  gives  of  its  trade  to  the  United  States  is  less  than 
that  of  most  of  the  other  countries  or  islands  herein  under  discussion  for 
the  simple  reason  that  it  is  distinctly  a  British  colony  with  officers  ap- 
pointed by  the  British  government,  and  the  natural  trend  of  trade  and 

40 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

business  matters,  including  administration  and  the  development  of  the 
territory,  is  with  the  mother  country,  Great  Britain.  This  is  also 
characteristic  of  the  other  distinctly  British  territories  in  the  Caribbean 
area,  that  a  larger  proportion  of  the  trade  is  with  the  mother  country 
than  is  the  case  with  those  republics  of  independent  governments  which 
are  entirely  free  from  influence  of  a  governing  power  in  other  parts  of  the 
globe.  The  mother  country  quite  naturally  desires  that  as  large  a  share  as  is 
practicable  of  the  commerce  of  its  colonies  shall  be  with  the  governing 
country.  As  a  consequence  of  these  conditions,  the  trade  of  the  United 
States  with  Jamaica  and  other  British  islands  in  the  Caribbean — the  Lee- 
ward and  Windward  groups,  Tobago,  Trinidad,  the  Bahamas  and  Barbados, 
— is  in  less  proportion  to  their  respective  totals  than  that  of  the  Central 
American  states  or  the  other  countries  and  islands  in  question  having  their 
own  form  of  government  and  free  to  direct  their  trade  as  natural  condi- 
tions suggest. 

Our  own  figures  of  trade  with  Jamaica  extend  back  only  to  1911,  prior 
to  which  date  the  trade  with  Jamaica  was  included  in  the  general  classi- 
fication "Other  British  West  Indies."  The  imports  into  the  United  States 
from  Jamaica  during  that  period,  1911  to  1919,  had  somewhat  diminished 
in  value,  having  been  in  1911  $6,243,000;  in  1913,  $5,291,000;  in  1917, 
$4,240,000;  ifi  1918,  $3,283,000;  advancing,  however,  to  $5,173,000  in  the 
calendar  year  1919. 

Our  exports  to  the  Island  are,  however,  larger  than  the  imports  there- 
from, and  have  shown  a  steady  increase  in  the  period  for  which  records 
are  available.  The  total  exports  to  Jamaica  in  the  fiscal  year  1911  were 
$4,380,000;  in  1913,  $5,287,000;  in  1916,  $6,484,000;  in  1917,  $8,075,000; 
in  1918,  $7,834,000;  and  in  the  calendar  year  1919,  $11,106,000.  This 
gain,  especially  during  the  war  period,  is  doubtless  due,  in  part,  to  the 
heavy  fall-off  in  exports  from  Great  Britain,  the  conditions  and  difficulties 
of  shipping,  and  the  high  freight  rates.  The  fact  that  the  bulk  of  our 
exports  to  Jamaica  consists  of  manufactures  suggests  that  the  trade  with 
Jamaica  in  this  particular  is  participating  in  the  general  expansion  of  our 
export  trade  in  manufacture. 

Sugar,  coffee,  bananas,  cocoanuts,  cocoa  and  live  stock  are  the  principal 
products  of  Jamaica,  practically  all  of  them  being  of  a  character  required 
in  the  United  States.  Sugar  and  coffee  are  among  our  largest  imports, 
while  there  is  a  large  and  steadily  growing  demand  for  her  other  products — 
bananas,  cocoanuts  and  cocoa. 

41 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

Of  the  one  million  acres  under  cultivation  and  care,  of  which  285,000 
are  under  actual  tillage  and  736,000  under  pasture,  sugar  cane  occupies 
38,000  acres,  coffee  32,000,  bananas  68,000,  cocoanuts  36,000  and  cocoa 
14,500.  The  fact  that  all  of  these  articles  are  required  in  large  quantities 
in  Great  Britain  and  that  the  policy  of  the  British  Government  is  to 
supply  to  its  colonies  as  large  a  share  of  their  imports  as  practicable, 
renders  the  United  States'  share  in  the  trade  of  Jamaica  materially  less 
than  in  that  of  most  of  the  West  Indian  islands.  Her  imports  from  the 
United  States  in  the  year  1918  were  $8,100,000  or  about  50%  of  the  total 
as  against  76%  supplied  by  us  in  the  imports  of  Cuba,  90%  in  those  of 
Haiti  and  93%  in  those  of  the  Dominican  Republic.  Jamaica's  exports 
in  1919  were  $14,000,000,  of  which  about  28%  were  sent  to  the  United 
States.  Her  facilities  for  trade  with  the  mother  country  are  especially 
good  in  view  of  the  fact  that  she  lies  comparatively  near  to  the  trade 
route  between  the  Panama  Canal  and  northern  Europe. 

The  Turks  and  Caicos  Islands,  which  are  a  part  of  the  Bahamas  group, 
are  for  governmental  purposes  a  dependency  to  the  government  of  Ja- 
maica. Their  most  important  products  are  salt,  sponges  and  fibre. 

The  population  of  Jamaica  is  894,000  and  that  of  the  Turks  and  Caicos 
Islands  about  6000. 

Mexico  Mexico  has  so  large  a  frontage  upon  both  the  Caribbean 
and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  has  also  such  great  industrial,  com- 
mercial and  financial  possibilities  that  the  limited  space  allotted  to  this 
study  of  the  Caribbean  frontage  is  insufficient  to  present  the  facts  in  their 
proper  detail.  The  lack  of  detailed  information  at  the  present  moment, 
due  to  internal  conditions,  would  scarcely  justify  an  attempt  to  present 
more  than  the  principal  general  facts. 

The  area  of  Mexico,  767.000  square  miles,  is  one-quarter  of  that  of  the 
United  States  exclusive  of  Alaska,  and  forms,  in  fact,  over  one-third  of 
the  entire  area  (2,070,700  square  miles)  of  the  islands  in  and  countries 
fronting  upon  the  Caribbean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  exclusive,  of  course, 
of  the  United  States.  Her  population,  15,500,000,  is  more  than  one-third 
that  of  the  entire  area  under  discussion,  and  her  possibilities  as  to  agri- 
culture, mining,  oil  production  and  other  important  lines  are  so  great 
as  to  justify  the  assertion  that  with  permanent  peace  and  a  stable  govern- 
ment, her  development  commercially,  industrially  and  financially  will  be 
very  rapid. 

42 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

Her  total  foreign  commerce,  which  amounted  to  only  $70,000,000  in 
1890;  $100,000,000  in  1900;  $175,000,000  in  1910;  $210,000,000  in  1913; 
was  considerably  over  $300,000,000  in  1919.  Our  own  trade  figures  of 
imports  from  and  exports  to  Mexico  in  the  calendar  year  1919  aggregate 
$280,000,000,  exclusive  of  the  precious  metals,  and  the  further  fact  that 
we  imported  $63,000,000  worth  of  silver  from  that  country  in  1919,  and 
$51,000,000  in  1918,  indicates  that  Mexico's  silver  industry  is  still  very 
important  despite  the  disturbances  which  have  materially  reduced  the 
output  of  its  silver  mines.  Silver,  copper,  gold  and  other  minerals,  rubber, 
sisal,  coffee,  cocoanuts,  bananas,  cattle  hides  and  goat  skins  were  the 
most  important  of  Mexico's  exports  prior  to  the  development  of  the  great 
petroleum  industry  in  the  great  oil  fields  fronting  upon  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  exports  of  mineral  oil  alone  were  in  1919  apparently  about  $50,- 
000,000,  since  our  own  imports  of  crude  oil  from  that  country  in  the  calendar 
year  1919  were  $26,290,000  and  are  understood  to  be  approximately 
one-half  of  the  total  amount  produced  for  exportation  in  that  year.  Our 
own  importations  of  sisal  (a  substitute  for  hemp)  coming  almost  exclu- 
sively from  Mexico  were,  in  the  calendar  year  1919,  $40,000,000  in  value 
and  in  1918  $55,000,000.  We  also  received  from  Mexico  in  1919  over 
$5,000,000  worth  of  coffee  and  $10,000,000  worth  of  hides. 

A  country  which  can,  after  the  several  years  of  internal  strife  which  has 
recently  characterized  conditions  in  Mexico,  send  to  the  United  States 
alone  in  the  calendar  year  1919,  $63,000,000  worth  of  silver,  nearly 
$5,000,000  worth  of  gold,  $40,000,000  worth  of  sisal,  $26,000,000  worth 
of  petroleum,  $5,000,000  worth  of  lead,  nearly  $6,000,000  worth  of  coffee, 
$20,000,000  worth  of  copper,  $10,000,000  worth  of  raw  cotton  and  $10,- 
000,000  worth  of  hides,  with  numerous  other  small  products  of  her  in- 
dustries, has  very  great  future  possibilities  under  conditions  of  peace  and 
the  facilities  for  the  development  of  her  great  mineral  and  agricultural 
power,  while  her  importing  power  will,  of  course,  develop  in  proportion 
to  the  value  of  her  products  turned  out. 

Her  railroads  also  have  a  far  greater  length  than  any  of  the  other 
countries  (other  than  the  United  States)  fronting  upon  the  Caribbean 
and  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Her  total  mileage  at  the  latest  available  date  was 
16,000  miles,  her  telegraphs  60,000  miles  of  wire.  Her  climatic  belts — ex- 
tremely tropical  in  the  lower  levels  fronting  upon  the  waters  of  the  Carib- 
bean, Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  sub-tropical  at  a  greater 
altitude,  and  temperate  in  the  greatly  elevated  table  lands — give  to  her 

43 


TRADING       IN       THE-     CARIBBEAN 

great  area  untold  possibilities  of  agricultural  production,  as  is  apparent 
from  the  figures  above  quoted,  and  the  possibilities  and  probabilities  as 
to  her  mineral  wealth  are  also  very  great. 

Coupling  these  with  an  industrious  population  of  16,000,000  and 
important  transportation  facilities  both  as  to  ocean  shipping  and  rail- 
roads, the  future  of  Mexico  as  a  great  commercial,  industrial  and  financial 
country  needs  only  the  assurance  of  internal  peace  and  the  stability  of 
government  which  will  assure  financial  cooperation  from  the  areas  and 
countries  able  to  supply  this  needed  factor  in  her  future  development. 
Details  of  our  trade  with  Mexico  and  of  its  general  trade  are  presented 
in  the  statistical  statements  which  are  appended. 

Nicaragua  Nicaragua,  like  her  sister  republics  of  Central  America, 
is  especially  fortunate  in  lying  within  very  easy  reach  of 
the  world's  greatest  market  for  tropical  products,  the  United  States. 
Clearly  it  is  distinctly  tropical  in  its  products,  which  include  coffee,  ban- 
anas, pineapples,  cocoanuts,  oranges,  plantains,  cocoa,  cane  sugar,  cattle, 
mahogany,  dye-woods,  gums,  India  rubber  and  medicinal  plants  of 
tropical  growth.  Its  area,  49,600  square  miles,  is  about  equal  to  the 
state  of  Louisiana.  Its  population  is  about  700,000. 

Its  trade  with  United  States  is  large  in  proportion  with  the  total. 
About  one-half  of  its  exports  are  sent  to  our  ports  and  nearly  three-quarters 
of  its  imports  taken  from  us.  Our  own  figures  of  trade  with  Nicaragua 
show  a  large  increase  in  the  exports  to  her  since  1910  when  they  totalled 
$1,250,000,  advancing  to  $3,170,000  in  1916,  $4,378,000  in  1918  and 
$6,694,000  in  the  calendar  year  1919.  Our  imports  from  Nicaragua 
advanced  from  $1,322,000  in  1910  to  $5,496,000  in  1919.  Our  imports 
from  Nicaragua  included  in  1918,  the  latest  year  for  which  details  are 
available,  $2,129,000  worth  of  coffee,  $520,000  worth  of  hides,  $341,000 
worth  of  bananas,  $923,000  worth  of  mahogany  and  $111,000  worth  of 
India  rubber,  while  our  own  exports  to  that  country  were,  like  those  to 
most  of  the  tropical  areas,  flour,  meats  and  miscellaneous  manufactures. 

The  future  of  Nicaragua,  as  a  producer  of  tropical  and  sub-tropical 
products,  has  great  possibilities.  Only  a  very  small  proportion  of  its  area 
is  as  yet  under  cultivation,  although  it  lacks  labor  and  transportation 
to  make  it  one  of  the  most  productive  of  the  countries  under  consideration. 
It  has  in  the  interior  an  elevated  table  land  capable  of  producing  many 
important  sub-tropical  growths,  and  the  unusually  broad  area  between 

44 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

the  mountains  and  the  Caribbean,  as  compared  with  many  other  of  the 
countries  fronting  upon  that  body  of  water,  makes  a  very  large  section 
of  the  eastern  frontage  available  for  the  production  of  bananas,  rubber 
and  certain  other  products  requiring  a  distinctly  tropical  and  moist 
climate. 

The  chief  drawbacks  at  the  present  time  are  the  lack  of  labor,  trans- 
portation facilities  and  capital.  The  entire  length  of  railroads  in  the 
Republic  is,  at  present,  but  about  200  miles.  Transportation  from  coast 
to  coast  is  supplied  by  steamer  service  on  Lake  Nicaragua,  lying  in  the 
interior,  which  is  connected  by  river  and  rail  with  Greytown  on  the 
eastern  frontage  and  San  Juan  del  Sur  on  the  west.  The  chief  cities  are 
Managua,  the  capital,  situated  on  the  southern  border  of  Lake  Managua 
and  having  a  population  of  35,000;  Leon,  the  former  capital,  has  a 
population  of  about  60,000;  Grenada  18,000;  Matagalpa  16,000. 

Panama  Panama's  greatest  importance  to  the  United  States  and, 
in  fact,  to  the  world,  lies,  of  course,  in  her  possession  of  the 
passageway  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  the  Panama  Canal, 
and  especially  so  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Canal  was  constructed  through 
her  territory  on  a  strip  of  land  granted  in  perpetuity  to  the  greatest  com- 
mercial, financial  power  on  the  American  continent,  the  United  States. 
The  terms  of  this  grant  included  the  payment  to  Panama  by  the  United 
States  of  $250,000  annually,  which  proves  quite  important  as  an  income 
to  a  Republic  of  32,000  square  miles  with  a  population  of  450,000.  The 
Canal  traffic  and  the  business  connected  therewith  also  bring  to  Panama 
many  persons  familiar  with  the  possibilities  of  tropical  industries  and 
equipped  to  make  investments  in  such  lines,  and  consequently  the  pro- 
ducing power  and  commerce  have  rapidly  increased  during  the  last  few 
years,  since  her  establishment  hi  1903  as  an  independent  Republic. 

The  capital,  Panama,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  has  a  population  of  about 
70,000;  Colon  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  30,000. 

Panama  is,  of  course,  especially  fortunate  in  a  close  steamship  connec- 
tion with  the  ports  of  the  United  States,  both  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  and 
also  with  other  ports  of  the  world,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  com- 
merce of  this  comparatively  small  Republic  has  grown  to  $12,000,000  and 
that  her  producing  power  has  been  greatly  increased  through  the  in- 
vestments of  American  and  other  foreign  capital. 

Coffee,  cocoa,  India  rubber,    sugar,  tobacco  and  live  stock  are  the 

45 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

principal  industries  and  in  many  cases  they  are  being  developed  through 
supplies  of  capital  from  the  United  States,  the  number  of  coffee  trees 
already  reaching  about  500,000;  cocoa  trees  about  100,000;  rubber  planta- 
tions with  about  40,000  trees,  cane  sugar  with  an  estimated  output  of 
about  4,000,000  Ibs.;  while  the  live  stock  industry,  which  is  especially 
prosperous,  includes  about  250,000  head  of  cattle.  Practically  all  of  the 
exports  of  Panama  go  to  the  United  States,  and  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  imports  are  drawn  from  the  United  States.  Of  the  trade  of  1918, 
the  latest  for  which  figures  are  available,  99%  of  the  exports  were  sent  to 
the  United  States  and  87%  of  the  imports  drawn  from  the  United  States, 
these  figures  being  exclusive  of  the  traffic  of  the  Canal  Zone, 

The  utilization  of  the  Panama  Canal  as  a  route  for  world  traffic  was 
somewhat  delayed  by  the  war  but  is  now  growing  with  great  rapidity 
and  the  success  of  the  Canal  is  assured,  and  thus  the  prosperity  of  the 
Republic  through  which  it  passes  and  to  which  it  will  continue  to  draw 
attention  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Its  importance  as  a  producing 
area  and  a  trade  and  transportation  centre  for  representatives  of  all  parts 
of  the  world,  led  the  International  Banking  Corporation  to  establish, 
early  in  its  history,  branches  at  the  City  of  Panama  on  its  Pacific  frontage 
and  Colon  on  the  Caribbean. 

Porto  Porto  Rico,  which  came  under  the  control  of  the  United 
Rico  States  just  twenty  years  ago  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Spain, 
illustrates,  in  its  present  condition,  the  benefits  which  stable 
government  can  bring  to  a  tropical  area  lying  at  the  doors  of  a  great 
temperate  zone  country  requiring  tropical  products.  Its  commerce, 
which  is,  of  course,  an  "index  number"  measuring  its  general  prosperity, 
has  grown  from  $20,000,000  in  the  year  prior  to  United  States'  occupation 
to  $160,000,000  in  1919,  or  eight  times  as  much  in  1919  as  in  the  year  pre- 
ceding her  annexation  to  the  United  States. 

With  the  assurance  of  stable  government  controlled,  directed  and, 
where  necessary,  financed  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  capital 
both  in  this  country  and  elsewhere  was  willing  and  ready  to  develop 
the  industrial  and  producing  powers  of  Porto  Rico,  and  her  products  for 
exportation  grew  from  $10,000,000  in  value  in  1899  to  approximately 
$80,000,000  in  1919,  while  imports  increased  correspondingly. 

This  wonderful  gain  in  the  industries  of  Porto  Rico  during  the  twenty 
years  of  her  close  relationship  with  the  United  States  is  a  proof  of  the 

46 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

general  economic  condition  which  assures  to  tropical  areas  a  ready  market 
for  their  products  in  cases  where  they  lie  immediately  adjacent  to  tem- 
perate zone  areas  with  large  purchasing  and  consuming  power  as  is  the 
case  with  reference  to  Porto  Rico.  The  United  States,  for  example,  has 
increased  its  importation  of  tropical  and  sub-tropical  products  from  less 
than  $300,000,000  in  the  year  in  which  Porto  Rico  was  annexed  to  ap- 
proximately two  billion  dollars  in  1919. 

The  sugar  lands  of  Porto  Rico,  which  were  looked  upon  at  the  time 
of  its  annexation  as  having  reached  practically  their  full  producing  capacity, 
now  turn  out  six  times  as  many  pounds  of  sugar  as  was  the  case  at  date  of 
annexation.  The  sugar  turned  out  by  the  cane  fields  of  Porto  Rico  in 
1917  was  a  billion  pounds,  the  total  to  the  United  States  alone  being 
942,000,000  pounds,  and  while  the  quantity  in  1919  was  slightly  less, 
the  value  of  the  1919  shipments  was  slightly  in  excess  of  those  of  1917. 

Porto  Rican  tobacco,  which  steadily  grew  in  favor  in  the  United  States 
with  a  closer  acquaintance,  aggregated  in  value  sent  to  us  alone  in  1919 
$10,813,000  against  $7,346,000  in  1917,  and  the  production  is  now  very 
much  greater  in  both  quantity  and  value  than  in  the  early  period  of  its 
new  relationship  with  the  United  States. 

Porto  Rican  coffee  holds  very  high  rank  with  those  who  have  made 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  it — so  much  so  that  Spain,  Cuba  and  France, 
which  were  well  acquainted  with  it  under  Spanish  rule,  take  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  annual  crop,  the  quantity  exported  from  the  island 
having  been  in  1918  over  40,000,000  pounds. 

These  improvements  in  the  producing  power  of  Porto  Rico  have  been 
due,  in  a  very  large  degree,  to  the  aid  which  the  government  has  rendered 
in  developing  transportation  facilities  as  well  as  other  aids  to  production 
and  commerce.  In  the  twenty  years  under  American  administration, 
permanent  public  improvements  have  been  developed,  including  $6,500,000 
expended  on  roads  and  bridges,  $4,220,000  upon  public  buildings,  $4,- 
917,000  on  irrigation  systems,  a  total  expended  for  these  three  great  aids 
to  the  industries  of  the  Island  of  $15,626,000,  while  sums  expended  in 
other  lines  such  as  water  works,  sewers,  lighting  systems,  etc.,  aggregate 
a  very  large  sum. 

These  developments,  under  governmental  administration,  of  trans- 
portation, irrigation,  public  buildings  and  other  facilities  of  this  character 
have  encouraged  private  capital  to  investments  in,  or  loans  on  behalf  of, 

47 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

the  great  industries — notably  sugar,  tobacco,  fruits,  live  stock  and  min- 
ing— and  large  sums  of  capital  from  continental  United  States  are  now 
represented  in  the  great  sugar  and  tobacco  works  and  other  industries 
of  this  character  which  have  been  so  largely  increased  during  American 
occupancy. 

The  immense  increase  in  industrial  business  since  its  annexation  to  the 
United  States  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  number  of  business  cor- 
porations registered  in  the  office  of  the  Executive  Secretary  has  increased 
from  fourteen  in  the  year  of  annexation,  1899,  to  386  in  1919,  of  which  236 
were  domestic  and  150  foreign  corporations,  sixteen  in  this  grand  total 
being  banks  and  including  branches  of  The  National  City  Bank  of  New 
York  at  San  Juan,  the  capital  and  principal  business  centre  on  the  northern 
frontage,  and  Ponce  on  the  southern  frontage  of  the  island. 

Summing  up  the  situation  in  Porto  Rico  at  the  present  time  as  compared 
with  that  at  the  date  of  her  annexation  to  the  United  States  twenty  years 
ago,  the  manager  of  The  National  City  Bank's  Branch  at  San  Juan,  Mr. 
Burt  O.  Clark,  says: — 

The  two  decades  of  progress  made  by  Porto  Rico  under  the  American 
flag  taken  altogether  constitute  a  record  which  cannot  be  equalled  by 
any  people  anywhere  in  the  world  in  the  same  length  of  time.  It  is  a 
record  creditable  alike  to  the  Porto  Ricans  themselves  and  to  the  great 
free  Republic  to  which  they  owe  allegiance.  Much  of  it  is  due  to  the 
liberality  and  generous  aid  of  the  great  American  government  and  people, 
but  most  of  the  credit  is  due  to  the  splendid  cooperation  of  the  Porto 
Ricans  themselves.  Without  their  cooperation,  little  of  this  progress 
could  have  been  made. 

But  the  people  of  the  Island  have  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  every 
opportunity  offered  them  for  improvement.  With  patriotic  devotion 
to  their  Island  and  with  a  real  aspiration  for  progress,  they  have  made 
a  quick  response  to  all  the  changes  that  were  necessary  for  develop- 
ment. In  politics  and  government,  in  education,  in  commerce  and 
industry,  in  social  and  moral  improvement,  they  have  offered  their  co- 
operation and  aid  to  the  forces  that  have  made  for  betterment.  This  is 
the  simple  truth  as  to  the  past,  and  this  is  the  best  augury  for  the 
future. 

It  seems  easy  to  predict  that,  barring  untoward  and  unexpected 
events,  the  next  two  decades  will  see  even  more  wonderful  progress  and 
development.  Porto  Rico  derives  its  income  from  the  soil.  But  by  grow- 
ing sugar  cane,  tobacco,  etc.,  the  inhabitants  have  been  adopting  the 
logical  course.  If  the  world's  market  should  become  such  as  to  make  the 
growing  of  the  above  mentioned  products  unprofitable,  the  Island  could 

48 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 


find  other  sources  of  income;  for  instance,  as  a  tourist  resort.  No  country 
in  the  tropics  can  boast  of  roads  such  as  Porto  Rico's.  The  motorist 
could  spend  months  here  and  find  new  points  of  interest  daily.  The 
climate  is  superb,  the  island  lying  directly  in  the  path  of  the  trade  winds. 
One  very  high  class  hotel  has  recently  been  established. 

The  present  need  is  good  passenger  steamships. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  the  foreign  trade  of  Porto  Rico  now  occurs 
with  continental  United  States.  Nearly  90%  of  the  merchandise  leaving 
that  Island  goes  direct  to  the  ports  of  continental  United  States  and  93% 
of  the  merchandise  entering  the  Island  is  from  the  United  States.  The 
character  of  the  merchandise  sent  to  the  United  States  is,  as  already 
indicated,  chiefly  the  products  of  the  soil — sugar,  tobacco,  fruits  and 
coffee — while  the  merchandise  drawn  from  continental  United  States 
includes  rice,  flour,  meats,  and  dairy  products,  vegetables,  mineral  oil, 
and  manufactures  of  all  classes,  especially  cotton  cloths,  iron  and  steel  in 
various  forms,  boots  and  shoes,  paper,  and  miscellaneous  manufactures, 
while  the  fact  that  the  value  of  this  merchandise  from  our  own  farms 
and  factories  sent  to  Porto  Rico  has  grown  from  approximately  $3,000,000 
at  the  date  of  annexation  to  $27,000,000  in  1910,  $31,000,000  in  1915  and 
$68,000,000  in  1919,  illustrates  the  growth  of  the  purchasing  power  and, 
therefore,  the  prosperity  of  the  Island  under  the  beneficent  influence 
of  a  close  relationship  with  a  great  temperate  zone  section  supplying  it  a 
market  for  its  tropical  products  and  thus  increasing  its  producing  and 
purchasing  power  and  the  inter-relation  of  the  industrial  and  financial 
interests  of  the  two  areas  having  the  mutual  relationship  of  the  tem- 
l>erate  zones  and  tropical  areas. 

Salvador  While  the  Republic  of  Salvador  is  not  strictly  a  Carib- 
bean territory,  since  it  fronts  only  on  the  Pacific,  yet  the  very 
fact  that  it  is  a  part  of  that  important  and  rapidly  developing  area,  Cen- 
tral America,  and  closely  associated  with  the  Caribbean  frontage  of  that 
peninsula,  justifies  its  inclusion  in  this  discussion. 

It  is  the  smallest  in  area  of  the  Central  American  states,  but  its  popu- 
lation is  larger  than  that  of  any  of  the  group  with  the  single  exception 
of  Guatemala.  The  area  is  but  13,176  square  miles  but  the  population  is 
1,271,000.  Its  population  per  square  mile  is  far  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  political  division  of  continental  America,  though  materially 
less  than  that  of  certain  islands  in  the  Caribbean-Gulf  of  Mexico  area. 
The  population  of  Salvador  per  square  mile  is  96.5  against  35.3  in  the 

49 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

United  States,  exclusive  of  Alaska;  20.2  in  Mexico;  8.1  in  Brazil;  7.2  in 
Argentine  and  2.2  in  Canada.  Certain  of  the  islands  of  the  area  under 
discussion,  however,  are  much  more  densely  populated  than  Salvador, 
the  population  of  Haiti  being  225.8  per  square  mile  and  that  of  Porto 
Rico  362.8. 

Coffee  is  the  most  important  product  of  the  busy  population  whose 
chief  occupation  is  agriculture  and  its  market  is  chiefly  the  United  States. 
In  fact,  Salvador  sends  about  two-thirds  of  her  total  exports  to  the  United 
States  and  takes  about  two-thirds  of  her  imports  from  us.  Her  chief 
routes  of  commerce  with  the  United  States  are,  naturally,  by  way  of  the 
Pacific  coast  ports  and  the  Panama  Canal.  The  exports  in  1917,  the 
latest  year  for  which  details  are  available,  include  $21,000,000  worth  of 
coffee;  $1,000,000  worth  of  indigo;  $1,000,000  worth  of  sugar  and  con- 
siderable values  in  rubber,  hides,  hemp  and  silver.  The  imports,  which 
amounted  in  1917  to  $2,500,000,  consist  of  manufactures  of  all  kinds, 
especially  cotton  goods,  iron  and  steel  manufactures  and  flour. 

Trinidad  The  island  of  Trinidad  and  its  little  outlying  island  of 
Tobago,  attached  to  Trinidad  for  governmental  purposes, 
lie  immediately  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco 
and  are  separated  from  the  mainland  by  two  narrow  channels,  one  entitled 
Dragon's  Mouth,  and  the  other  Serpent's  Mouth.  It  is  a  British  colony, 
discovered  by  Columbus  in  1498.  and  belonging  to  Spain  until  1797  when 
it  was  seized  by  the  English  and  confirmed  in  its  possession  by  the  treaty 
of  Amiens  in  1802. 

Its  area  is  1860  square  miles,  and  that  of  the  outlying  island  of  Tobago 
114  square  miles.  The  population  is  estimated  at  380,000.  The  capital, 
Port-of-Spain,  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  island,  is  described  by  Lip- 
pincott's  Gazetteer  as  "one  of  the  finest  towns  in  the  West  Indies."  Its 
population  is  given  in  the  Statesman's  Year  Book  of  1919  as  60,000. 
Port-of-Spain  is  the  seat  of  a  branch  of  The  National  City  Bank  of  New 
York. 

The  imports  of  Trinidad  in  1917,  the  latest  year  for  which  figures  are 
available,  were  $23,310,000  and  the  exports  $25,792,000.  About  one-third 
of  the  trade  is  with  the  United  States,  the  remainder  being  chiefly  with 
Great  Britain,  though  the  fact  that  its  exports  consist  largely  of  asphalt, 
utilized  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  gives  to  this  class  of  exports  a  wider 
field  of  distribution  than  with  any  other  articles.  The  exports,  stated 

50 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

in  order  of  their  relative  importance,  were  in  1917,  cacao  $8,100,000; 
sugar  $7,100,000;  asphalt  $675,000;  cocoanuts  $450,000;  copra  $510,000; 
petroleum,  crude,  $1,700,000. 

The  petroleum  fields  are  receiving  much  attention;  considerable 
sums  of  British  capital  have  been  invested  in  their  development  and  a 
considerable  part  of  the  product  is  now  being  exported  in  the  refined 
state,  including  lubricating  oil,  illuminating  oil,  and  naphtha. 

The  imports  are  manufactures  of  all  kinds,  especially  cotton  goods, 
iron  and  steel  manufactures  and  miscellaneous  merchandise,  and  there 
has  been,  especially  during  the  war,  an  increasing  demand  upon  the  United 
States.  Our  exports  to  Trinidad  and  Tobago  were,  in  1918,  $6,564,000; 
in  1919,  $7,777,000.  The  imports  from  the  island,  consisting  largely 
of  cacao,  which  alone  amounted  in  1918  to  $5,123,000;  cocoanuts,  $522,000; 
copra,  $350,000;  asphalt,  $403,000;  and  hides,  $102,000.  Our  exports 
to  the  Island  comprise  a  very  large  number  of  articles  including,  in  1918 — 
flour,  $354,000;  cotton  cloths  $375,000;  oil  well  machinery  $133,000; 
pipes  and  fittings,  $351,000;  meat  and  dairy  products,  $973,000. 

Venezuela  Venezuela  ranks  third  in  area  and  population  among 
the  countries  and  islands  of  the  Caribbean-Gulf  of  Mexico 
area  under  consideration  in  this  discussion.  Its  area,  394,000  square 
miles,  exceeds  that  of  any  of  the  countries  in  question,  except  Mexico  and 
Colombia,  and  its  population,  2,828,000,  is  also  in  excess  of  any  of  the 
countries  and  islands  in  question,  other  than  Mexico  and  Colombia. 

In  variety  of  products  and  possibilities  of  future  development,  it  also 
holds  very  high  rank.  Lying  as  it  does  in  the  track  of  the  trade  winds 
which  sweep  across  the  Atlantic  in  the  areas  of  extreme  heat,  the  air 
current,  which  moves  steadily  westward  across  the  Atlantic  the  year 
round,  reaches  Venezuela  carrying  all  the  moisture  that  air  can  carry,  and 
gives  to  practically  all  parts  of  her  large  area  a  dependable  climatic  condi- 
tion— one  of  extreme  heat  with  a  plentiful  and  seldom  excessive  supply  of 
moisture — and  assures  regularity  of  production  so  far  as  relates  to  climatic 
conditions.  The  character  of  the  soils  in  practically  all  parts  of  the 
country  is  also  favorable  to  regularity  and  quality  of  tropical  growths. 

The  surface  of  Venezuela  consists  of  three  distinct  zones — agricultural, 
pastoral  and  the  forest  zone.  Coffee,  cacao,  sugar  cane,  cotton,  corn  and 
beans  are  the  principal  products  of  the  strictly  agricultural  zone,  which 
lies  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  the  Caribbean  frontage 

51 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

and  in  the  valleys  of  the  great  rivers,  while  the  more  elevated  section  of 
the  interior  maintains  large  stocks  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  goats,  but 
with  *  very  great  opportunities  for  further  enlargement,  especially  as  to 
cattle  and  the  beef  supply,  while  the  forests  are  of  great  value  and  im- 
portance, contributing,  as  they  do,  India  rubber,  balata  (a  gum  resembling 
rubber),  vanilla,  tonga  beans  and  many  other  forest  products  of  this 
character. 

The  area  under  coffee  alone  is  estimated  at  200,000  acres  and  the 
number  of  coffee  plantations  about  33,000,  while  the  number  of  cocoa 
plantations  is  about  500  and  the  out-turn  a  very  considerable  factor 
in  the  production  of  the  country.  The  number  of  sugar  plantations  is 
estimated  at  about  11,000.  They  are  reported  extremely  prosperous  and 
are  turning  out  increasing  quantities  of  sugar,  the  product  having  been 
stimulated  by  the  recent  advance  in  selling  values.  New  sugar  centrales 
have  recently  been  established  on  the  lakes  of  Maracaibo  and  Valencia, 
and  others  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Caracas. 

The  live  stock  of  the  country  is  estimated  at:  cattle,  2,000,000;  sheep, 
180,000;  goats  1,665,000.  The  live  stock  possibilities  are  very  great, 
especially  in  the  interior,  and  have  great  promise,  as  is  illustrated  by  the 
recent  establishment  of  new  slaughtering  and  freezing  establishments 
which  are  expected  to  add  materially  to  the  prosperity  of  the  industry 
and  the  exportations  of  the  country,  though  there  are  still  great  possi- 
bilities open  to  investment  of  capital  in  this  line,  the  comparatively 
unoccupied  area  available  for  the  live  stock  industry  being  still  very  large. 

The  mineral  industries  are  also  important  and  include  gold,  copper, 
petroleum,  asphalt  and  many  other  minerals  and  metals.  Salt  mines  in 
various  sections  of  the  country  are  now  operated  by  the  Government, 
the  gross  revenue  in  the  first  year  of  the  governmental  administration 
having  been  6,377,000  bolivars  (the  value  of  the  bolivar  being  19.3  cents). 
The  petroleum  industry  is  of  very  considerable  importance  at  the  present 
time  and  the  future  is  looked  upon  as  very  promising,  large  sums 
of  capital — British  and  otherwise — having  been  invested  in  oil  lands  and 
in  the  development  of  production. 

The  railroads  of  the  country,  about  600  miles  at  the  present  time, 
represent  largely  British  and  German  capital.  The  telegraph  system  is 
about  6,000  miles  in  length,  and  the  telephone  about  15,000  miles  of  lines. 

Ocean  transportation  facilities  are  good.   Lying  as  it  does  in  the  direct 

52 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

route  of  vessels  passing  between  the  United  States  and  South  America 
either  as  to  the  eastern  or  western  frontages,  and  also  those  exclusively 
engaged  in  the  trade  of  the  Caribbean,  the  facilities  of  Venezuela  for  inter- 
communication with  the  United  States  are  exceptionally  good,  while  its 
proximity  to  the  trade  route  between  Europe  and  the  Panama  Canal  gives 
it  special  facilities  for  comparatively  close  relationship  with  Europe  on  one 
hand,  and  the  Pacific  trade  on  the  other.  Its  most  important  requirements  in 
the  matter  of  transportation  are  capital  for  the  development  of  the  trans- 
portation routes  of  the  interior,  especially  railroads  of  which  it  has  at 
present  only  600  miles,  for  a  country  with  a  total  area  of  394,000  square 
miles.  The  fact  that  an  exceptionally  large  portion  of  the  area  of  Venezuela 
is  productive  in  agriculture,  forestry  or  minerals,  suggests  that  an  enlarge- 
ment of  her  rail  and  river  transportation  power  for  the  interior  would  be 
of  extreme  value,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  ocean  transporta- 
tion facilities  are,  as  above  noted,  exceptionally  good,  and  large  markets 
demanding  all  classes  of  her  possible  products,  lie  within  a  comparatively 
short  distance  by  ocean  steamship. 

The  fact  that  the  imports  into  the  United  States  from  Venezuela 
have  grown  from  $6,701,000  in  the  fiscal  year  1910  to  $32,111,000  in  the 
calendar  year  1919,  and  that  the  exports  to  that  country  have  grown 
from  $2,797,000  in  1910  to  $14,429,000  in  1919,  illustrates  the  rapid 
growth  of  her  trade  and  the  interest  of  the  United  States  therein,  and 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  The  National  City  Bank  of  New  York  has 
established  branches  at  the  cities  of  Caracas,  the  capital,  with  a  population 
of  nearly  100,000;  Ciudad  Bolivar,  near  the  mouth  of  Venezuela's  principal 
river,  the  Orinoco,  with  a  population  of  approximately  20,000;  and  Mara- 
caibo,  at  the  entrance  to  Lake  Maracaibo,  with  a  population  estimated 
at  60,000;  all  of  them  connected  with  the  interior  by  rail  and  water 
transportation. 

Virgin  This  title  applies  to  a  group  of  islands  lying  immediately  east 
Islands  of  Porto  Rico  and  forming  the  beginning  of  the  chain  of  islands 
and  islets  known  as  the  Lesser  Antilles.  The  general  term 
Virgin  Islands  applies  to  a  group  of  36  islands,  about  one-half  of  them 
inhabited;  a  part  of  them  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  while  the  more 
important  islands  of  the  group — St.  Thomas,  St.  Croix  and  St.  John — now 
belong  to  the  United  States,  having  been  purchased  in  March,  1917, 
from  the  government  of  Denmark.  The  sum  paid  for  them  by  the  United 
States  government  was  $2.5,000,000,  which,  according  to  an  estimate  of 

53 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

the  National  Geographic  Magazine,  was  at  the  rate  of  $295  per  acre  as 
against  an  average  of  27c.  an  acre  paid  for  the  Philippines  and  2c.  an  acre 
paid  for  Alaska. 

The  value  of  these  three  islands,  especially  to  the  United  States,  lies 
chiefly  in  the  fact  that  they  include  two  very  important  harbors  available 
for  naval  and  strategic  purposes,  and  lying  off  the  eastern  end  of  our  island 
of  Porto  Rico  and  upon  the  main  route  of  approach  to  our  Panama  Canal. 
The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  upon  which  President  Wilson  recom- 
mended to  Congress  the  purchase  of  these  islands,  remarks  that  "there 
can  be  no  question  as  to  the  value  of  St.  Thomas'  harbor  as  a  naval  port, 
with  its  circular  configuration,  ample  roadsteads,  protection  from  pre- 
vailing winds  and  seas,  and  facilities  for  fortifications,  and  moreover,  the 
advantages  of  a  naval  base  off  the  entrance  of  the  Panama  Canal  and 
near  the  island  of  Porto  Rico  is  self-evident." 

The  importance  of  St.  Thomas  has  also  been  recognized  by  commerce 
and  commercial  carriers,  as  there  are  already  in  the  harbor  six 
large  cargo  docks  which  can  be  touched  by  vessels  drawing  up  to  31 
feet,  also  a  floating  dry  dock  with  a  maximum  lifting  capacity  of  3,000  tons, 
excellent  ship  repairing  and  coaling  facilities  which  are  of  importance  not 
only  to  the  United  States'  vessels  but  also  to  the  vessels  of  other  countries. 

The  island  of  St.  Croix  has  also  a  well  protected  harbor,  though  the 
entrance  is  less  satisfactory  than  that  of  the  harbor  of  St.  Thomas.  While 
the  island  of  St.  John  has  at  present  no  satisfactory  harbor,  engineers 
have  expressed  the  opinion  that  an  indentation  upon  its  coast  known  as 
"Coral  Bay"  has,  with  proper  development,  possibilities  quite  equal  to 
that  of  St.  Thomas. 

The  area  of  the  three  islands  which  have  thus  come  into  permanent 
ownership  of  the  United  States,  is  stated  by  the  Statistical  Abstract  of  the 
United  States  at  149  square  miles,  the  area  of  the  island  of  St.  Croix 
being  about  90  square  miles,  St.  Thomas  35  square  miles  and  St.  John 
25  square  miles.  The  population  of  the  three  islands  in  1917  was  26,051. 

Both  Danish  and  English  are  taught  in  the  public  schools,  which  were 
established  by  the  Danish  government,  and  attendance  has  been  made 
compulsory.  The  chief  language  of  the  islands  is  English. 

The  chief  products  are  sugar,  coffee,  cotton,  cocoanuts,  citrus  fruits, 
bay  rum,  and  food  animals,  especially  cattle,  while  unofficial  reports 
indicate  considerable  possibilities  as  to  iron  and  copper,  which  thus  far 

54 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 

have  not  been  developed  by  any  systematic  efforts  at  mining.  The  chief 
exports  are  sugar,  cotton,  coffee,  rum,  hides  and  citrus  fruits,  and  the 
chief  imports  are  flour,  cornmeal,  meats,  dairy  products,  cotton  cloths 
and  coal.  The  bulk  of  the  trade  of  the  islands  is,  of  course,  with 
the  United  States  and  Porto  Rico,  their  near  neighbor,  our  own  exports 
to  them  having  been  in  the  calendar  year  1919,  $1,804,000  against  $1,640,- 
000  in  1918  and  $1,885,000  in  1917.  Our  imports  from  the  islands  were, 
in  1919,  $1,593,000,  chiefly  sugar;  in  1918,  $1,138,000;  and  in  1917, 
$928,000. 

The  possibilities  of  the  sugar  industry  are  considered  of  very  con- 
siderable importance,  and  Brigadier-General  Mclntyre  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs  is  quoted  as  stating  before  the  committee 
of  Congress  that  the  sugar  plantations  of  the  islands,  although  producing 
less  at  present  than  formerly,  could  be  developed  to  a  production  of  about 
100,000  tons  of  sugar  annually. 

The  other  islands  of  the  Virgin  group  are  under  the  British  and  French 
and  include  about  thirty- two  islands  with  a  total  area  of  about  58  square 
miles,  only  a  portion  of  them,  however,  inhabited,  the  latest  estimate 
of  the  population  of  the  entire  British  portion  of  the  group  being  6,112. 
The  chief  British  islands  are  Tortola,  Virgin  Gorda,  Anegada  and  Jost- 
Van-Dykes.  Cotton,  sugar,  citrus  fruits  and  cocoanuts  are  the  chief 
products.  The  exports  of  1917  were  $44,000  and  the  imports  $60,000. 


Area,   Population,  Imports  and  Exports 

States  of  the  Islands  and 

the    Caribbean   Sea 


Mexico  .... 

Area 
Sq.  Miles 

767,200 
:a 
48,300 
44,300 
8,600 
13,200 
49,600 
18.700 
32,400 

435,000 
394,000 
89,500 
46,000 
32,000 

44,200 
11,100 
19,300 
3,400 
100 
4,200 
200 

2,000 
4,400 

200 
700 
500 
700 
400 
400 
100 

Population     Year 
15,502,000     1918 

2,119,000     1918 
562,000     1917 
43,000     1917 
1,271,000     1918 
700,000     1918 
441,000     1917 
450,000     1918 

5,473,000     1918 
2,828,000     1918 
314,000     1918 
92,000     1917 
49,000     1917 

2,628,000     1918 
2,500,000     1917 
725,000     1918 
1,246,000     1918 
26,000     1918 
894,000     1917 
187,000     1917 

377,000     1917 
60,000     1917 

6,000     1917 
128,000     1917 
178,000     1917 
212,000     1917 
193,000     1917 
58,000     1917 
5,000     1917 

Total 
Imports 

$117,100,000 

6,600,000 
6,300,000 
2,600,000 
6,000,000 
6,000,000 
5,600,000 
7,800,000 

22,000,000 
14,900,000 
16,300,000 
3,100,000 
2,400,000 

302,200,000 
10,000,000 
20,200,000 
63,400,000 
2,000,000 
16,200,000 
10,000,000 

23,000,000 
2,300,000 

200,000 
e4,500,000 
e4,500,000 
8,000,000 
10,500,000 
2,500,000 
2,000,000 

Imports 
From   U.  S. 

$93,200,000 

4,200,000 
5,100,000 
2,200,000 
3,900,000 
4,500,000 
3,900,000 
6,400,000 

10,500,000 
7,200,000 
7,300,000 
1,500,000 
500,000 

230,000,000 
9,000,000 
18,800,000 
58,900,000 
1,600,000 
8,100,000 
2,700,000 

7,000,000 
«1,200,000 

«100,000 
«1,500,000 
el,  500,000 
3,500,000 
3,500,000 

Imports 
From 
U.    S. 
85 

66 
82 
89 
65 
71 
60 
87 

49 
50 
43 
47 
22 

76 
90 
93 
93 
80 
50 
27 

31 
50 

50 
33 
33 
40 
35 

Central  Ameri< 
Guatemala 

Honduras 

Brit.  Honduras.... 
Salvador 

Nicaragua 

Costa  Rica 

Panama  . 

South  America 
Colombia  

Venezuela 

Brit.  Guiana  
Dutch  Guiana  
French  Guiana.... 
West  Indies 
Cuba 

Haiti 

Dom.  Republic.... 
Porto  Rico 

Virgin  Islands  
Jamaica 

Barbados 

Tobago  and 
Trinidad 

Bahamas 

Turks  Islands 
and  Caicos 

Leeward 

Windward 

Guadeloupe 

Martinique  
Curacao  

Cayman  

Total 

2,060,700       39,267,000 
*  Percentage  of  total  imports  from  U. 

$697,200,000       $497,800,000       *74 
S.                  t  Percentage  of  total  exports  to  U.  •' 

e  —  estimated. 

56 


[iid  the  Share  Thereof  with  the  United 
Countries  Fronting  Upon 
nd  Gulf  of  Mexico 


Total 
Exports 

Exports       Exports 
to   U.S.       to  U.S.      Year 

Revenue 

Expenditure 

Debt 

133,000,000 

$175,000,000 

91 

1914 

$75,798,000 

$75,687,000 

$62,000,000 

11,300,000 

8,000,000 

72 

1916 

3,332,000 

2,273,000 

54,000,000 

5,400,000 

5,000,000 

93 

1917 

4.102,000 

4,102,000 

1,598,000 

2,600.000 

1,800,000 

75 

1917 

642,000 

623,000 

920,000 

12,000,000 

8,300,000 

65 

1917 

4,851,000 

4,934,000 

1.783,000 

7,800,000 

3,800,000 

48 

1916 

2,302,000 

1,981,000 

11,000,000 

11,400,000 

8,100,000 

72 

1918 

4,265,000 

4,250,000 

5,890,000 

3,000,000 

2,900,000 

99 

1918 

3,594,000 

3,594,000 

3.699,000 

37,700,000 

24,700,000 

72 

1918 

17,179,000 

16,499,000 

4,317,000 

19,700,000 

12,000,000 

60 

1917 

8.515,000 

8,515,000 

67,000 

16,900,000 
3,500,000 
2,500,000 

570,600,000 
13,000,000 
22,400,000 
74,300,000 
1,300,000 
12,000,000 

1,000,000 
1,500,000 
100,000 

266.000,000 
3,500,000 
19,400,000 
65,100,000 
1,200,000 
3,400,000 

7 
48 
5 

72 
27 
83 
88 
99 
28 

1917 

3,582,000 

3,582,000 

4,832,000 

1918 
1914 
1918 

62,760,000 
5,724,000 
3,163,000 

70,951.000 
6.164,000 
2,953,000 

13.000,000 

1917 

5,120.000 

5,343,000 

18.478,000 

10,000,000 

300,000 

3 

1917 

2,000,000 

2.219,000 

2,623.000 

25,000,000 

7,500,000 

30 

1917 

5,343,000 

5,343,000 

7.600,000 

2,000,000 

200,000 
05,000,000 

01,000,000 

0100,000 
01,600,000 

50 

50 
33 

1917 

1917 
1917 

423.000 

50,000 
934,000 

530,000 

45,000 
964,000 

248,000 

1,265,000 

04,500,000 
10,000,000 
16.000,000 
1,000,000 
1,000,000 

01,500,000 

83 

1917 

1,046,000 

1,095,000 

1,674,000 

16,000 

18,000 

$622,800,000     f?9 


57 


TRADING       IN       THE       CARIBBEAN 
TOTAL  IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS 

of  the 

CARIBBEAN  ISLANDS  AND  COUNTRIES  AND  THEIR 
TRADE  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES 

From     1900     to     1918 

From  Official  Reports  of  the  Countries  Named 


1900 
1905 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


1900 
1905 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


Total 
Exports 

$1,010,000 

300,000 

900,000 

1,300,000 

1,100,000 

1,200,000 

1,600,000 

2,000,000 


,400,000 

,600,000 

,900,000 

,700,000 

,500,000 

5,800,000 

m5,100,000 

10,000,000 

010,700,000 


BAHAMAS 

Exports 

%    to 

Total 

to  U.S. 

U.S. 

Imports 

no  data 



$1,600,000 

" 



375,000 

n 



1,600,000 

I    600,000 

46.2 

1,900,000 

500,000 

45.4 

1,800,000 

700,000 

58.3 

1,800,000 

1,100,000 

68.7 

2,300,000 

1,400,000 

72.2 

2,400,000 

BARBADOS 


2,400,000 

1,300,000 
500,000 
400,000 
400,000 
300,000 

d700,000 
300,000 

d600,000 


54.5 

28.3 

10.2 

8.5 

8.9 

5.2 

13.7 

3.0 

56 


5,100,000 

4,600,000 

6,500,000 

6,600,000 

6,300,000 

6,200,000 

m6,200,000 

10,000,000 

11,100,000 


Imports 
from   U.S. 

no  data 

n 
n 

$1,400,000 
1,300,000 
1,400,000 
1,900,000 
2,000,000 


%from 

U.S. 


73.7 
72.2 
77.7 
82.6 
84.2 


1,700,000 
1,600,000 
1,900,000 
1,900,000 
1,700,000 
1,900,000 

cl, 900,000 
2,700,000 

c3,900,00e 


33.3 
34.7 
29.2 
£8.7 
27.0 
30.6 
30.6 
£7.0 
35.1 


CUBA 


1900 

47,700,000 

31,400,000 

65.8 

64,800,000 

26,500,000 

40.9 

1905 

110,200,000 

95,300,000 

86.5 

94,800,000 

43,000,000 

45.3 

1910 

150,900,000 

129,300,000 

85.7 

103,700,000 

50,600,000 

48.8 

1913 

165,200,000 

122,600,000 

74.2 

132,300,000 

75,900,000 

57.4 

1914 

173,300,000 

144,100,000 

83.2 

118,200,000 

68,800,000 

£8.2 

1915 

235,500,000 

194,600,000 

82.6 

140,900,000 

90,500,000 

64.2 

1916 

356,600,000 

241,800,000 

67.8 

248,300,000 

149,600,000 

60.2 

1917 

*355,900,000 

255,300.000 

71.7 

256,100.000 

206,800,000 

80.7 

1918 

270,600,000 

266,000,000 

98.3 

302,200,000 

230,000,000 

76.1 

(a)  Civil  war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 

(b)  1899  (g)   1906  (/)  Fiscal  year  1914-15      (3) 

(c)  Exports  of  U.  S.  (h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5        (m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16     (r) 


(d)  Imports  of  U.  S. 

00  Fiscal  year  1899-1900 


CT)  1909 

(/)  1899  (k)  Fiscal  year  1909-10 

*  Figures  from  U.  S.  Statistical  Abstract. 


Fiscal  year  1913-14 
Fiscal  year  1912-13 
ri)  Estimate 
(o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 
(s)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S. 


58 


T  R 

A  D   I   N 

G       IN       THE       CAR 

I   B   B   E   A   N 

CURACAO 

Total 

Exports          %    to               Total 

Imports 

%  from 

Exports 

to  U.S.            U.S.             Imports 

from   U.S. 

U.S. 

1900 

no  data 

no  data         no  data 

no  data 

1905 

$400,000 

$1,300,000 

» 

1910 

j300,000 

1,300,000 

• 

1913 

9,200,000 

1,900,000 

n 



1915 

900,000 

$500,000         55.5              1,900,000 

$1,200,000 

63.8 

1916 

1,000,000 

800,000         80.0              2,500,000 

1,700,000 

68.0 

1917 

1,000,000 

<f760,000         76.0              2,500,000 

dl,800,000 

1918 

DOMINICAN  REPUBLIC 

1900 

6,000,000 

3,700,000         61.7              3,200,000 

1,300,000 

40.2 

1905 

6.900,000 

4,500,000         65.2              2,700,000 

2,000,000 

71.7 

1910 

10.900,000 

7,700,000         70.6              6,300,000 

3,700,000 

60.6 

1913 

10,200,000 

5,500,000         53.5              9,000,000 

5,600,000 

62.2 

1914 

10,600,000 

8,600,000         81.1              6,700,000 

4,500,000 

67.2 

1915 

15,200.000 

12,000,000         78.9              9,100,000 

7,400,000 

81.3 

1916 

21,500,000 

18,300,000         85.1            11,300,000 

9,200,000 

81.4 

1917 

22,400,000 

17.900,000         80.0            17,400,000 

14,300,000 

82.2 

1918 

22,400,000 

19,400,000         86.6            20,200,000 

18,800,000 

93.1 

COLOMBIA 

1900 

a3,300,000 

no  data         a2,000,000 

no  data 

1905 

014,400,000 

7,100,000         49.3            09,100,000 

3,500,000 

38"5 

1910 

*17,600,000 

7,700,000         43.7          *17,000,000 

4,600,000 

27.2 

1913 

33,400,000 

18,900,000         56.6            26,300,000 

7,600,000 

28.9 

1914 

32,600,000 

18,000,000         55.2            21,800,000 

7,000,000 

33.1 

1915 

31,600,000 

18,700,000         59.2            17,800,000 

9,300,000 

52.3 

1916 

30,800,000 

26,600,000         86.2            28,900,000 

14,300,000 

49.4 

1917 

«32,200,000 

427,600,000         85.7            23.900,000 

cl2,600.000 

52.7 

1918 

37,700,000 

24,700,000         65.5            22,000,000 

10.500,000 

47.7 

COSTA  RICA 

1900 

*5,900,000 

3,000,000         50.8            *5.700,000 

1,700,000 

29.8 

1905 

*8,100,000 

3,800,000         47.1            *5,200,000 

2,700,000 

51.7 

1910 

8,400,000 

5,100,000         60.7              7,900,000 

4,100,000 

51.9 

1913 

10,300,000 

5,300,000         50.8              8,700,000 

4,500,000 

51.2 

1914 

10,900,000 

4,900,000         44.9              7,600,000 

4,000,000 

52.6 

1915 

10,000,000 

4,900.000         49.0              4,500,000 

3,000,000 

66.6 

1916 

11,100,000 

6,800,000         61.3              6,600,000 

4,700,000 

71.2 

1917 

11,400,000 

8,100,000         71.1              5,600,000 

3,900,000 

60.0 

1918 

»12,600,000 

d  9,  100,000         72.2            *4,800,000 

c2,  100,000 

43.7 

GUADELOUPE 

1900 

63,600,000 

no  data         63,700,000 

no  data 

1905 

1,600,000 

2,500,000 

• 

1910 

4,600,000 

"               3,200,000 

» 



(a)  Civil 
(6)   1899 

war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 
(*)   1906                                (/)  Fiscal  year  1914-15 

(q)  Fiscal  year 

1913-14 

(c)  Exports  of  U.  S. 

/J\       T  _     _f    TT       O 

(h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5        (m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16 

(r)  Fiscal  year 

1912-13 

Imports  of  U.  S.  (*)   1911 

(«j  Fiscal  year  1899-1900 
(/)  1899 

*  Fimrttfrom  U.  S.  Stalitiieal  Abitract. 


(f)   1909 

(k)  Fiscal  year  1909-10 


(n)  Estimate 

(o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 

(5)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S 


59 


T  It 

A  D  IN 

G       IN 

THE       CAR 

I  B   B   E 

A  N 

Guadeloupe  (continued) 

Total 
Exports 

Exports 
to  U.S. 

%    to              Total 
U.S.             Imports 

Imports 
from   U.S. 

%/rom 
U.S. 

1914 

$4,600,000 

no  data 

$3,200,000 

$900,000 

28.1 

1915 

4,900,000 

$40,000 

3,800,000 

1,400,000 

36.8 

1916 

8,100,000 

70,000 

4,800,000 

2,400,000 

50.0 

1917 

10,000,000 

80,000 

8,000,000 

3,500,000 

43.8 

1918 

GUATEMALA 

1900 

*7,800,000 

<Z2,400,000 

30.7            *3,100,000 

1,100,000 

35.5 

1905 

*8,200,000 

2,900,000 

34.9              6,800,000 

3,100,000 

44.8 

1910 

n8,500,000 

dl,800,000 

21,2              4,300,000 

2,700,000 

62.7 

1913 

14,100,000 

3,900,000 

27.7              9,800,000 

5,100,000 

52.0 

1914 

12,800,000 

4,900,000 

38.3              9,400,000 

4,900,000 

52.1 

1915 

11,600,000 

6,900,000 

59.5              5,100,000 

3,800,000 

74.5 

1916 

10,600,000 

8,700,000 

82.1              8,500,000 

5,200,000 

61.2 

1917 

7,800,000 

n6,200,000 

79.4              9,000,000 

c6,800,000 

75.6 

1918 

*9,700,000 

^8,000,000 

82.4            57,000,000 

c5,200,000 

74.2 

GUIANA,  BRITISH 

1900 

09,400,000 

d3,800,000 

40.4            06,400,000 

cl,900,000 

29.9 

1905 

9,400,000 

2,700,000 

28.7              7,200,000 

2,200,000 

30.5 

1910 

9,300,000 

1,000,000 

10.8              8,300,000 

2,300,000 

27.7 

1913 

10,700,000 

400,000 

2.7              8,200,000 

1,800,000 

21.9 

1914 

12,600,000 

400,000 

3.2              7,700,000 

1,800,000 

23.4 

1915 

16,000,000 

600,000 

3.1              8,800,000 

2,200,000 

25.0 

1916 

18,000,000 

1,800,000 

10.0            10,500,000 

1,300,000 

29.5 

1917 

20,700,000 

800,000 

3.9            13,900,000 

5,900,000 

42.4 

1918 

16,900,000 

1,000,000 

5.9            16,300,000 

7,300.000 

44.8 

GUIANA,  DUTCH 

1900 

/2,  200,000 

dl,200,000 

54.5            /2,500,000 

500,000 

20.0 

1905 

1,800,000 

d600,000 

33.3              2,600,000 

c500,000 

19.2 

1910 

2,600,000 

<*400,000 

15.4              2,900,000 

c700,000 

24.1 

1913 

3,800,000 

d800,000 

21.1              2,900,000 

C700.000 

24.1 

1914 

2,600,000 

(21,000,000 

38.5              2,600,000 

c700,000 

26.9 

1915 

2,800,000 

d600,000 

21.4              2,200,000 

c600,000 

27.2 

1916 

3,400,000 

2,100,000 

60.5              3,100,000 

1,500,000 

47.0 

1917 

3,500,000 

1,500,000 

42.8              3,100,000 

1,500,000 

47.0 

1918 

2,800,000 

d600,000 

21.4              3,000,000 

1,400,000 

46.6 

GUIANA,  FRENCH 

1900 

1,200,000 

d40,000 

3.3              1,900,000 

c200,000 

10.5 

1905 

1,900,000 

40,000 

2.1              2,200,000 

c200,000 

9.1 

1910 

j2,200,000 

<J20,000 

.9              2,400,000 

c300,000 

12.5 

1913 

2,300,000 

d30,000 

1.3              2,400,000 

c300,000 

12.5 

1914 

2,100,000 

2,100,000 

c300,000 

14.3 

1915 

2,200,000 

d50,000 

2.3              2,000,000 

c500,000 

25.0 

1916 

2,100,000 

d30,000 

1.4              2,100,000 

C500.000 

23.8 

1917 

2,600,000 

100,000 

3.8              2,400,000 

500,000 

22.0 

1918 

2,000,000 

<Z20,000 

1.0              2,600,000 

800,000 

30.7 

(a)  Civil 
(b)   1899 

war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 
(*)   1906                                (0  Fiscal  year  1914-15 

(q)  Fiscal  year  1913-14 

(c)  Exports  of  U.  S. 

/  J\       T  _               _     _*    TT       O 

(h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5        (m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16 

(r)  Fiscal  year  1912-13 

(t)   1911 


Imports  of  U.  S. 

(<?)  Fiscal  year  1899-1900     (J)   1909 
(/)  1899  (k)  Fiscal  year  1909-10 

*  Figures  from  U.  S.  Statistical  Abstract. 


n)  Estimate 

o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 

s)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S. 


60 


T  R  A  D   I   N 

G       IN       THE       CAR 

I   B   B   E   A  N 

HAITI 

• 

Total 

Exports          %    to               Total 

Imports 

%/rom 

Exports 

to  U.S.            U.S.              Imports 

from   U.S. 

U.S. 

1900          $11,200,000 

rf$l,200,000         10.7            $5,800,000 

C$3,100,000 

55.5 

1905            *5,000,000 

1,200,000         23.4            *3,900,000 

2,700,000 

70.9 

1910          *11,000,000 

500,000           4.8              6,100,000 

4,200,000 

69.3 

1913            17,300,000 

800,000           4,6              8,700,000 

6,500,000 

74.7 

1914          516,200,000 

dl,200,000           7.4              7,600,000 

6,400,000 

84.2 

1915          513,700,000 

rfl.500,000         10.9              4,300,000 

3,800,000 

88.4 

1916          513,500,000 

d3,700,000         27.3            10,300,000 

8,800,000 

85.4 

1917            13,000,000 

3,500,000         26.9            10,000,000 

9,000,000 

90.0 

1918          518,400,000 

d6,800,000         36.9          «10,400,000 

c9,  100.000 

87.5 

HONDURAS 

1900              1,300,000 

1.000,000         76.9              1,200,000 

1.100,000 

91.6 

1905            *2,900,000 

2,500,000         87.2            *2,500,000 

1,600,000 

63.1 

1910              2,600,000 

2,000,000         87.7              3,000,000 

2,100,000 

68.2 

1913              3,300,000 

2,900,000         87.9              5,100,000 

8,500,000 

68.6 

1914              3,400,000 

3,000,000         88.2              6,600,000 

5,300,000 

80.3 

1915              3,900,000 

3,000,000         76.9              5,900,000 

5,200,000 

88.1 

1916            715,900,000 

5,600,000         94.9              5,900,000 

5,200,000 

88.1 

1917              5,400,000 

5,000,000         92.5              6,300,000 

5,100,000 

82.0 

1918            *5.800,000 

</5,300,000         91.3            *6,100,000 

c5,000,000 

81.9 

HONDURAS,  BRITISH 

1900              1,300,000 

350,000         26.9              1,200,000 

700,000 

58.3 

1905              1,800,000 

960,000         53.3              1,900,000 

960,000 

50.5 

1910              2,000,000 

1,700,000         85.0              2,800,000 

,300,000 

46.4 

1913              3,100,000 

2,400,000         77.4       .      3,100,000 

,500,000 

48.4 

1914              2,900,000 

2,400,000         82.8              3,000,000 

,500,000 

50.0 

1915              2,200,000 

1.800,000         81.7              2,100,000 

,100,000 

52.4 

1916              2,500,000 

1,400,000         56.0              2,700,000 

,600,000 

59.3 

1917              2,600,000 

1,800,000         69.2              2,600,000 

2,200,000 

89.0 

1918              2,700,000 

d2,600,000         96.3              2,800,000 

c2,300,000 

82.1 

JAMAICA 

1900              8,700,000 

n4,800,000         55.1              5.400,000 

712,200,000 

40.0 

1905              6,100,000 

8,700,000         60.6              8,200,000 

3,500,000 

42.6 

1910            12,500,000 

6,800,000         54.4            12,700,000 

5,800,000 

45.7 

1913            10,800,000 

6,800,000         63.0            13,800,000 

6,500,000 

47.1 

1914            14,100,000 

8.600,000         61.1            12,500,000 

5,900,000 

47.2 

1915            10,800,000 

5,100,000         47.2            11,300,000 

6,100,000 

54.0 

1916            13,700,000 

4,500,000         32.8            15,100,000 

8,700,000 

57.6 

1917            12,000,000 

3,400,000         28.3            16,200,000 

8,100,000 

50.0 

1918          012,100,000 

<f3,100,000         25.6          016,000,000 

c7,500,000 

50.0 

LEEWARD  ISLANDS 

1900              1,500,000 

no  data         1,800,000 

no  data 

1905                 600,000 

600,000 

P 

1910              2,700,000 

9               2,800,000 

" 



(a)  Civil  war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 

<b)   1899 
(c)  Exports  of  U.  S. 
(d)  Imports  of  U.  S. 

If)   1906                                (/)  Fiscal  year  1914-15 
(h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5        (m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16 
(*)  1911                                (n)  Estimate 

(q)  Fiscal  year 
(r)  Fiscal  year 

1913-14 
1912-13 

(e)  Fiscal  year  1899-1900 
CO   1899 

CO  1909                                 (o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 
(ft)  Fiscal  year  1909-10      (s)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S. 

*  Fifuret  from  U.  S.  Statitiical  Abttraet. 

61 

TRADING   IN   THECARIBBEAN 


Leeward  Islands  (continued) 

Total 

Exports 

%    to 

Total 

Imports 

%/rom 

V 

Exports 

to  U.S. 

U.S. 

Imports 

from   U.S. 

UM, 

1913 

$2,800,000 

$400,000 

14.2 

$2,700,000 

$900,000 

33.3 

1914 

2,900,000 

600,000 

20.7 

2,900,000 

850,000 

29.3 

1915 

3,000,000 

600,000 

20.0 

2,800,000 

430,000 

15.4 

1916 

5,500,000 

n900,000 

16.4 

3,100,000 

n700,000 

22.6 

1917 

5,300,000 

1,600,000 

33.1 

4,200,000 

1,500,000 

35.7 

1918 

05,300,000 

1,800,000 

33.9 

04,400,000 

1,800,000 

40.9 

1900 
1905 
1910 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


1900 
1905 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


1900 
1905 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


1900 
1905 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 


5,200,000 

3,500,000 

5,200,000 

5,700,000 

8,400,000 

11,800,000 

15,700,000 


3,900,000 

*3,400,000 

*4,600,000 

7,700,000 

5,100,000 

4,600,000 

5,300,000 

6,000,000 

7,800,000 


17,700,000 
1,800,000 
5,400,000 
3,800,000 
3,300,000 
5,500,000 
5,600,000 
3,000,000 


8,600,000 
39,900,000 
38,000,000 
49,100,000 
43,100,000 
49,400,000 
66,700,000 
81,100,000 
74,300,000 


MARTINIQUE 


no  data 

n 


5,000 
5,000 


4,800,000 
2,800,000 
3,700,000 
4,300,000 
4,500,000 
6,500,000 
10,900,000 


NICARAGUA 


1,100,000 
1,700,000 
1,600,000 
2,700,000 
2,400,000 
3,100,000 
3,700,000 
5,000,000 
3,800,000 


28.2 
49.9 
34.2 
35.1 
47.1 
67.4 
69.8 
83.3 
48.7 

PANAMA 


3,400,000 

*3,400,000 

*2,900,000 

5,800,000 

4,100,000 

3,200,000 

4,800,000 

6,400,000 

6,000,000 


State  of  Colombia 


800,000 
1,500,000 
4,600,000 
3,300,000 
3,100,000 
5,400,000 
5,500,000 
2,900,000 


4.5 

83.5 
82.5 
86.6 
93.9 
98.1 
98.2 
96.7 


10,000,000 

10.000,000 

11,400,000 

10,200,000 

9,300,000 

9,200,000 

9,200,000 

7,800,000 


PORTO  RICO 


5,700,000 
26,400,000 
26,400,000 
40,500,000 
34,400,000 
42,300,000 
61,100,000 
73,100,000 
65,100,000 


78.7 
66.2 
69.4 
82.5 
79.8 
85.6 
91.6 
90.3 
87.6 


9,400,000 
38,800,000 
30,600,000 
36,900,000 
36,400,000 
33,900,000 
39,100,000 
53,500,000 
63,400,000 


no  data 


2,300,000 
3,100,000 
5,700,000 


850,000 
1,900,000 
1,600,000 
3,200,000 
2,600,000 
2,600,000 
3,900,000 
5,000,000 
4,500,000 


5,600,000 
5,600,000 
6,400,000 
6,300,000 
7,000,000 
6,700,000 
7,100,000 
6,400,000 


7,400,000 
23,600,000 
23,300,000 
33,200,000 
32,600,000 
30,900,000 
35,900,000 
49,500,000 
58,900,000 


51.1 

47.7 
52.3 


25.0 
55.3 
55.3 
55.2 
63.4 
81.2 
81.3 
78.1 
75.0 


56.0 
56.0 
56.1 
61.7 
75.3 
72.8 
77.2 
82.1 


78.7 
60.8 
76.1 
90.1 
89.5 
91.2 
91.8 
85.1 
92.9 


Fiscal  year  1913-14 
Fiscal  year  1912-13 


(a)  Civil  war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 

(6)   1899  (g)  1906  (/)  Fiscal  year  1914-15 

(c)  Exports  of  U.  S.  (h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5        (m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16 

(d)  Imports  of  U.  S.  (*)   1911  (n)  Estimate 

(e)  Fiscal  year  1899-1900     (j)  1909  (o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 

(./)   1899  (k)  Fiscal  year  1909-10      (s)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S. 

•  Figures  from  U.  S.  Statistical  Abstract. 

62 


T  R 

A   D   I   N 

G       IN       THE 

CAR 

I   B   B   E 

A   N 

SALVADOR 

Total 

Exports          %    ^ 

Total 

Imports 

%  from 

Exports 

to  U.S.            U.S. 

Imports 

from   U.S. 

U.S. 

1900 

$9,100,000 

$700,000           7.7 

n$5,000,000 

$700,000 

1905 

*5,600,000 

1,225,000         21.8 

*4,300,000 

1,400,000 

3L2 

1910 

*7,300,000 

2,300,000         31.2 

*3,700,000 

1,300,000 

36.0 

1913 

9,400,000 

2,700,000         28.7 

6,200,000 

2,500,000 

40.3 

1914 

10,800,000 

2,700,000         25.2 

5,000,000 

2,000,000 

40.6 

1915 

10,300,000 

1,800,000         17.5 

3,900,000 

2,600,000 

66.6 

1916 

66,700,000 

61,100,000         91.6 

39,100,000 

35,900,000 

91.8 

1917 

16,700,000 

5,700,000         34.1 

6,800,000 

1,500,000 

22.1 

1918 

12,000,000 

8,300,000         69.2 

6,000,000 

3,900,000 

65.0 

TOBAGO  and  TRINIDAD 

190f 

12,600,000 

3,900,000         30.9 

12,200,000 

2,900,000 

23.7 

1905 

12,100,000 

3,400,000         28.3 

12,800,000 

3,300,000 

25.8 

1910 

16,900,000 

4,500,000         26.6 

16,300,000 

4,200,000 

25.7 

1913 

25,300,000 

6,800,000         26.9 

24,400,000 

4,000,000 

16.« 

1914 

13,100,000 

5,400,000  .       41.2 

14,000,000 

4,100,000 

29.3 

1915 

16,600,000 

8,200,000         49.3 

14,900,000 

4,400,000 

29.« 

1910 

20,900,000 

7,200,000         34.6 

17.800,000 

6.200,000 

34.8 

1917 

25,800,000 

7,100,000         27.5 

23,000,000 

7,000.000 

31.0 

1918 

*27,000,000 

d7,100,000         26.3 

*20,800,000 

c6,600,000 

31.7 

VENEZUELA 

1900 

14,400,000 

5,500,000         38.2 

8.300,000 

2,500,000 

30.1 

1905 

A  15,  600,000 

4,800,000         30.8 

A9.300.000 

2,800,000 

30.1 

1910 

18,000,000 

<f6,700,000         37.2 

12,500,000 

c2,800,000 

22.4 

1913 

29,500,000 

8,500,000         28.8 

18,200,000 

7,000,000 

38.S 

1914 

21,500,000 

9,400,000         43.7 

14,000,000 

6,000,000 

42.8 

1915 

23,400,000 

13,200.000         56.4 

13,500,000 

8,000,000 

59.3 

1916 

22,700,000 

11,800,000         51.9 

20,600,000 

13,000,000 

63.1 

1917 

*23,200,000 

13,100,000         54.7 

*20.200,000 

15,100,000 

68.0 

1918 

19,800,000 

(212,000,000         60.6 

14,900,000 

c7,200,000 

48.3 

(a)  Civil  war  raging;  figures  are  those  of  Barranquilla  only  available. 


(6)   1899 

(c)  Exports  of  U.  S. 

(d)  Imports  of  U.  S. 

(e)  Fiscal  year  1899-1900 
(/)   1899 


(«)   1906 


(h)  Fiscal  year  1904-5 
1911 
1909 
Fiscal  year  1909-10 


Fit urtt  from  U.  S.  Statittical  Abttract. 


(/)  Fiscal  year  1914-15 
(m)  Fiscal  year  1915-16 


(n)  Estimate 
(c 


(<?)  Fiscal  year  1913-14 
(r)  Fiscal  year  1912-13 


(o)  Fiscal  year  1917-18 

(s)  Estimate  based  on  import  or  export  figures  of  U.S . 


